11-Dec-2005
December 2005 Newsletter from the desk of Karen Brichoux
Contents:
*News
*Article: Tracking the Wild Novel
*What I’m Reading
News:
*THE GIRL SHE LEFT BEHIND received a wonderful review from High Country News (http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.BulletinBoard?issue_id=312#Coming ), an environmental news magazine about the western states.
*I have posted the first chapter for FALLING INTO THE WORLD (http://www.karenbrichoux.com/work4.htm ) , which publication date has held steady at November, 2006. FALLING will be released as a NAL Accent book. A conversation guide and questions for reading groups will be included with the book.
*If you would like to be added to my snail-mail mailing list to receive a postcard informing you of upcoming releases (this amounts to one postcard a year and is the only thing I will send you), send me your mailing address at email@karenbrichoux.com Please put “mailing list” in the subject line. The amount of spam lately is making it difficult to figure out what is legitimate e-mail (this goes for all e-mail). I try to always respond when I receive an e-mail (even if it takes a few days), so if you don’t get a reply, I probably didn’t get your e-mail.
*Article: Tracking the Wild Novel: A Bear Behind Every Tree
One of the hardest parts about writing a book as a published author is career stress and interruptions. Every time I find my stride while walking through the woods of a draft, a bear pops out from behind a tree and sends me running backwards. These bears are a normal part of every person’s life. Some are friendly; some aren’t. A family visit, a new boss, fear of losing your job, the loss of a pet, graduations, holidays, health problems--all of these things affect everyone to a greater or lesser degree. Writers are no exceptions.
For me, writing a book is a long process. Every morning, I have to empty my mind of all my life’s details and immerse myself in the details of another world. Sometimes my own life is so complicated that the idea of writing about someone else’s life exhausts me to the point of immobility. When career and family situations are iffy or unstable, I have a tendency to focus on me, me, me--losing my ability to fully sympathize with the emotions and life of my characters.
How can a person track that wild novel when these bears exist? I don’t have much of a solution, just a few tricks. The best trick I have is to sit down and write out all the worst-case scenarios for everything I’m worrying about. Doing this prepares me for the worst ( hopefully) and lets me start thinking about the solutions and responses should that worst-case scenario occur. Once I’ve done that, I’m usually more relaxed and capable of getting back to work on the story.
Here’s hoping everyone has a wonderful holiday that is free of bears!
Best,
Karen
*What I’m Reading:
THE YELLOW ADMIRAL by Patrick O’Brian
THE PORTRAIT by Iain Pears
CYPRESS GROVE by James Sallis
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and MATILDA by Roald Dahl
THE CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens
A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES by Dylan Thomas
A CHRISTMAS MEMORY by Truman Capote
