Christa M. Miller's Posts - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T11:45:51ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammillerhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/60985093?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=christammiller&xn_auth=noStarting the next noveltag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-12-04:537324:BlogPost:1007232007-12-04T20:55:38.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>Crap. Has it really been four months since I posted here? Crap. Hopefully <a href="http://freelancemother.blogspot.com/2007/08/stress-in-home-office.html">this post from my other blog</a> will explain my absence a little!</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I've gotten to work on the next novel. I already have a fair number of rough scenes written, plus an outline and character sketches. I've been contemplating how to go about revising the thing (yes--already!), largely because my last novel was difficult to…</p>
<p>Crap. Has it really been four months since I posted here? Crap. Hopefully <a href="http://freelancemother.blogspot.com/2007/08/stress-in-home-office.html">this post from my other blog</a> will explain my absence a little!</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I've gotten to work on the next novel. I already have a fair number of rough scenes written, plus an outline and character sketches. I've been contemplating how to go about revising the thing (yes--already!), largely because my last novel was difficult to revise; I'm a big-picture person, so keeping track of all those little details was kind of a killer.</p>
<p>I believe in outlines, but only when they're warranted and not to such an extent that you can't still discover things about character or, as a result of character discovery, let the plot wander off in a different direction (as long as it ends up at the climax, which I already wrote). So I don't have all those little details ironed out.</p>
<p>What I do have, which I didn't with HURT, was experience writing and revising short stories. That may make the difference. I don't think I could revise sentence by sentence as I've heard some writers do--that would be too details-oriented--but I might be able to revise chapter by chapter. Treat them like a short story, write those little details down that I think might come back later.</p>
<p>Could it work? I'll find out!</p>Pretty, pretty spreadsheettag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-13:537324:BlogPost:629922007-08-13T16:25:35.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
I have an Excel spreadsheet that I use to track all my agent submissions. It contains more than 100 names so I had to figure out a way to keep track of where and when I submitted. I write the dates, but that's too confusing - so - I color code. Red is for shortlisted agents (the ones I really want offers from). Blue is for ones I've submitted to. Hot pink is for requested materials. Green is for rejections. Black is default (the ones that don't fit into those categories). It's a pretty, pretty…
I have an Excel spreadsheet that I use to track all my agent submissions. It contains more than 100 names so I had to figure out a way to keep track of where and when I submitted. I write the dates, but that's too confusing - so - I color code. Red is for shortlisted agents (the ones I really want offers from). Blue is for ones I've submitted to. Hot pink is for requested materials. Green is for rejections. Black is default (the ones that don't fit into those categories). It's a pretty, pretty list, and I spend too much time admiring it. Procrastination, thy name is organization....From Seuss to Spade?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-31:537324:BlogPost:593032007-07-31T01:21:59.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
Conversation between Hamlet and Rain Dog at bedtime:<br/><br/>H: Daddy, tell me a story about a bad man.<br/>R: What kind of bad man?<br/>H: Just a bad man.<br/>R: Does he stay bad, or become nice?<br/>H: He stays bad.<br/><br/>Four years old and already thinking noirish thoughts. It's a crime writer's career dream come true.
Conversation between Hamlet and Rain Dog at bedtime:<br/><br/>H: Daddy, tell me a story about a bad man.<br/>R: What kind of bad man?<br/>H: Just a bad man.<br/>R: Does he stay bad, or become nice?<br/>H: He stays bad.<br/><br/>Four years old and already thinking noirish thoughts. It's a crime writer's career dream come true.On the roadtag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-07-19:537324:BlogPost:560062007-07-19T14:40:40.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
We recently took a two-day (one way) road trip to South Carolina. Of course I brought the PDA, because I accomplish a lot of writing on car rides. This time, though, I had the same problem I've had on other protracted car trips: other than a few ideas here and there that I was able to jot down, I didn't write at all. Not in the car or at the rest stops or even at the hotels once we stopped moving. It was a vacation from writing and I'm still on it - Rain Dog and I are talking about running some…
We recently took a two-day (one way) road trip to South Carolina. Of course I brought the PDA, because I accomplish a lot of writing on car rides. This time, though, I had the same problem I've had on other protracted car trips: other than a few ideas here and there that I was able to jot down, I didn't write at all. Not in the car or at the rest stops or even at the hotels once we stopped moving. It was a vacation from writing and I'm still on it - Rain Dog and I are talking about running some errands today, and I have zero interest in bringing the PDA and trying to work. I'm sure eventually I'll be interested again, but for now, I'm trying to recharge my batteries through reading and thinking about the projects I want to work on. Hopefully soon (after my older boy's birthday party, probably) I'll be with it once more.Will it never end?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-30:537324:BlogPost:515462007-06-30T01:49:30.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>I was re-drafting my query today for my novel HURT and got a brainstorm: What if this character dunnit, not the original? Oh, stop, I told myself, but it was too late. I was <em>thinking</em> about it. Then I started to write the thoughts down. And I realized that this potential revision could solve a number of niggling problems I had with the story. It could strengthen a couple of weak characters, cast light on others' motivations, take out the tired old serial-killer motif and focus on a…</p>
<p>I was re-drafting my query today for my novel HURT and got a brainstorm: What if this character dunnit, not the original? Oh, stop, I told myself, but it was too late. I was <em>thinking</em> about it. Then I started to write the thoughts down. And I realized that this potential revision could solve a number of niggling problems I had with the story. It could strengthen a couple of weak characters, cast light on others' motivations, take out the tired old serial-killer motif and focus on a more interesting plot.</p>
<p>I'm really excited about these changes, with one caveat: it is yet another revision. This would make the third "last" revision I have done. Each has strengthened the story, so I don't feel that I'm stuck in endless-revision-land... and yet I <em>really</em> want this to be the last revision so I can move onto the next project. I've felt that way for the past year and a half.</p>
<p>Oh well. Onward, I guess.</p>A late birthday presenttag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-01:537324:BlogPost:453792007-06-01T21:27:42.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>I'm one of those people who is impossible to buy for. I have to make lists for people, but often I have no idea what I want, myself. Other than writing time, and no one wants to believe that that is ALL I want. I don't quite understand - if I ask for it, I must want it, right? - but whatever.</p>
<p>So I asked for things for Christmas, but ended up returning them because 1) they weren't quite what I needed (yes, I'm also one of those people who only asks for necessary things) and 2) we were…</p>
<p>I'm one of those people who is impossible to buy for. I have to make lists for people, but often I have no idea what I want, myself. Other than writing time, and no one wants to believe that that is ALL I want. I don't quite understand - if I ask for it, I must want it, right? - but whatever.</p>
<p>So I asked for things for Christmas, but ended up returning them because 1) they weren't quite what I needed (yes, I'm also one of those people who only asks for necessary things) and 2) we were desperately hard up for cash. On my birthday, a tax refund had made life better, but I still didn't know what I really wanted that I felt was worth spending money on.</p>
<p>Rain Dog, on the other hand, is the easiest person in the world to buy for. Music, TV shows, movies, books, clothes (but no striped shirts)... so it took me all of about five minutes to pick up Season 5 of <em><a href="http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/the_shield/main.html">The Shield</a></em> and also a $25 gift card to <a href="http://www.bullmoose.com/">Bull Moose Music</a>.</p>
<p>While shopping, I noticed the store had a used copy of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106028/"><em>Homicide: Life on the Street</em></a>'s first and second seasons. I almost picked it up - he's never seen it, only listened to me rave about what a fantastic show it was - except then it would be my present, not Rain Dog's. But I mentioned it to him after the fact, not really expecting that he would get it. And yet - he did.</p>
<p>So after we get through <em>The Shield</em>, we'll get on to <em>Homicide</em>. And I will be a happy lady for all the fine writing I'll get to see in action.</p>Bits and bitestag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-05-18:537324:BlogPost:410182007-05-18T21:36:08.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>I decided to "go with the flow" in my lack of commitment to any one story. Now I find random ideas popping into my head - so when that happens, I write them down, either in the story itself or in a "random ideas" file on my PDA, to be imported later into the pertinent document. So far it seems to be going OK. It's very much a creative frame of mind rather than the more logical approach I take to revisions/edits, but maybe that reflects the chaos of my life right now (2 little kids, possible…</p>
<p>I decided to "go with the flow" in my lack of commitment to any one story. Now I find random ideas popping into my head - so when that happens, I write them down, either in the story itself or in a "random ideas" file on my PDA, to be imported later into the pertinent document. So far it seems to be going OK. It's very much a creative frame of mind rather than the more logical approach I take to revisions/edits, but maybe that reflects the chaos of my life right now (2 little kids, possible move, possible going back to work, family health issues, still needing to do "normal" day-to-day stuff). So maybe in a way, I'm taking advantage of that chaos to create. I can't say I don't enjoy it - I do - but it is certainly a different mode from the one I'm used to!</p>
<p>Anyone else do this, or have ever done this? How do you deal with chaotic circumstances vis a vis writing?</p>Lack of commitmenttag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-27:537324:BlogPost:289772007-04-27T19:15:55.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>I've got about half a dozen stories in progress, most in various stages of revision. Trouble is, I can't seem to commit to any of them.</p>
<p>There's the one I wanted to submit to the New England Crimebake contest, but lost so much time during the 3-day power outage last week that I don't think it will be done in time (April 30). There's the one I want to submit to Mr. Bagley's anthology. A few others that I dusted off from when I wrote them years ago, and the two zombie short stories that…</p>
<p>I've got about half a dozen stories in progress, most in various stages of revision. Trouble is, I can't seem to commit to any of them.</p>
<p>There's the one I wanted to submit to the New England Crimebake contest, but lost so much time during the 3-day power outage last week that I don't think it will be done in time (April 30). There's the one I want to submit to Mr. Bagley's anthology. A few others that I dusted off from when I wrote them years ago, and the two zombie short stories that need overhauling.</p>
<p>I can't figure out why I can't commit. It's not that I'm afraid to work on them. I know exactly what they need and I know how to accomplish that. Maybe it's because there are too many in similar stages, but I don't think so. Neither do I think it's because my novel is not quite done (I normally have trouble with new projects until old ones are done, but that's never affected my short fiction).</p>
<p>Has anyone else ever encountered this? What did you do about it? I know the short answer - pick one. Finish it. Then pick another and finish that. And so on down the line.</p>
<p><em>But which one?</em></p>What do I want?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-04-03:537324:BlogPost:178172007-04-03T19:47:01.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>Sometimes I think I don't really want to be published at all. I read the horror stories about publishing and publicity, reviews and remainders, and I wonder why I'm doing this at all. What is so important to me about seeing my fiction published? Why am I sitting here praying just to be shortlisted for the contest I entered my novel in?</p>
<p>It's not because I think people who look at me as a loser will realize I'm not. A friend wisely pointed out once that people who think you're a loser…</p>
<p>Sometimes I think I don't really want to be published at all. I read the horror stories about publishing and publicity, reviews and remainders, and I wonder why I'm doing this at all. What is so important to me about seeing my fiction published? Why am I sitting here praying just to be shortlisted for the contest I entered my novel in?</p>
<p>It's not because I think people who look at me as a loser will realize I'm not. A friend wisely pointed out once that people who think you're a loser will always find ways to see you that way. You put 20 books on the midlist, you're not good enough to crack the NYT Bestseller list. You crack the NYT list, and they're lowering their standards.</p>
<p>I think it's some combination of wanting to make people stop and think, and to feel that there is more to life than cleaning my house and changing diapers. I'm a big-picture person; I have to have a long view in order to function. My day-to-day life right now is so mundane that to be able to enjoy it, I need to feel like I'm making a difference. Writing does that.</p>
<p>So why do I want to be published? I guess it's just a big-picture version of the satisfaction I derive from folks who tell me nice things about my published works. Is it necessary? I don't know. I'm too tired to think about it right now. And there's a diaper that needs changing.</p>Itotallysuckitistag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:BlogPost:86262007-03-19T17:06:38.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>Props to Alison Gaylin for coming up with a name for this affliction. It works.</p>
<p>It's reared its head a couple of times over the last few months, while I revise my novel yet again. Is especially acute when I read about people I know whose novels or short stories are nominated for some award or, heck, published. I know the only way to do anything about it - at least in this case - is to get a few critiquers on board to work with me, and to keep working on myself. And yet: I totally…</p>
<p>Props to Alison Gaylin for coming up with a name for this affliction. It works.</p>
<p>It's reared its head a couple of times over the last few months, while I revise my novel yet again. Is especially acute when I read about people I know whose novels or short stories are nominated for some award or, heck, published. I know the only way to do anything about it - at least in this case - is to get a few critiquers on board to work with me, and to keep working on myself. And yet: I totally suck.</p>
<p>Don't mind me. This is just something I have to get through. Self-discipline, and all that. Anyone else?</p>Writing hard-to-work-with characterstag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-14:537324:BlogPost:56882007-03-14T21:04:04.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>I've struggled with a character in my novel for as many years as I've been writing it. It wasn't that I was trying to make him do something that went against what he wanted to do. I realized a long time ago that he was repressed.</p>
<p>Therefore, finding things out about him was always more like creating him from scratch, rather than his telling me as I went along (as the other two main characters did). Figuring out his motivations, weak points, etc. however? Not like pulling teeth - more…</p>
<p>I've struggled with a character in my novel for as many years as I've been writing it. It wasn't that I was trying to make him do something that went against what he wanted to do. I realized a long time ago that he was repressed.</p>
<p>Therefore, finding things out about him was always more like creating him from scratch, rather than his telling me as I went along (as the other two main characters did). Figuring out his motivations, weak points, etc. however? Not like pulling teeth - more like extracting impacted wisdom teeth. With no painkillers.</p>
<p>I think I finally managed okay, but I still worry that he's the weak point in the whole novel. He's definitely necessary, but I just don't want folks to reject the ms based on the fact that he was hard to write (thus potentially stilted-sounding action).</p>
<p>Anyone else ever faced this? What did you do about it (unless of course you just decided to cut the character, or let him do something else)?</p>Novel POV vs. short story POVtag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-11:537324:BlogPost:41912007-03-11T22:12:35.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>I was trying to figure out why I write my novels from the cops' POV, and my short stories from the criminals'. I can only guess that a novel lets a mystery unfold - it takes time for cops to piece together the evidence enough to find the perp and make an arrest - whereas a short story is a good venue to show the rashness of most criminal acts: crimes not planned, but committed (or at least conceived) in the heat of a moment.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Anyone else notice this trend in their own, or…</p>
<p>I was trying to figure out why I write my novels from the cops' POV, and my short stories from the criminals'. I can only guess that a novel lets a mystery unfold - it takes time for cops to piece together the evidence enough to find the perp and make an arrest - whereas a short story is a good venue to show the rashness of most criminal acts: crimes not planned, but committed (or at least conceived) in the heat of a moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anyone else notice this trend in their own, or others', writing? Or do you see different patterns? What do you make of them?</p>The best part of the BSSPtag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-07:537324:BlogPost:23922007-03-07T15:50:41.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<p>I run the risk of sounding like a dork, but I think my favorite part of the recent BSSP was the sense of community. It is so easy to think in terms of writers who are on one side or the other of a published "wall," but what this project showed is that regardless of status, we all still love writing and reading - the pleasure of creating for others' eyes, and the pleasure of enjoying it.</p>
<p>Thanks again to those who commented on my story. And thanks to everyone who participated. I hadn't…</p>
<p>I run the risk of sounding like a dork, but I think my favorite part of the recent BSSP was the sense of community. It is so easy to think in terms of writers who are on one side or the other of a published "wall," but what this project showed is that regardless of status, we all still love writing and reading - the pleasure of creating for others' eyes, and the pleasure of enjoying it.</p>
<p>Thanks again to those who commented on my story. And thanks to everyone who participated. I hadn't had that much fun since "Flashing in the Gutters."</p>As if two other blogs weren't enough...tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-04:537324:BlogPost:4232007-03-04T17:10:43.000ZChrista M. Millerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/christammiller
<font size="2">Here's a third. I'd been thinking about creating a writing blog anyway. This seems like a good opportunity and the perfect place. It remains to be seen whether I can 1) make the time and 2) think of interesting things to say about my writing!</font>
<font size="2">Here's a third. I'd been thinking about creating a writing blog anyway. This seems like a good opportunity and the perfect place. It remains to be seen whether I can 1) make the time and 2) think of interesting things to say about my writing!</font>