Nomadism and Social Networks

I'm currently reading a book called Plot and Structure, by James Scott Bell. I've been dragging this book around, periodically starting it, I think since the '07 Surrey Writers' Conference! There are three different colors of highlighter in the first 10 pages, and then nothing.

So, I had an hour yesterday while waiting for my daughter at a doctor's appointment, and I actually made it all the way to page 26. And somehow, along the way, I had an epiphany!

My work in progress, current under reconstruction (and in a title flux) is about a young gypsy woman living in Poland in 1938. I have about a dozen starts for query letters and short summaries, but even after taking Janet Reid's Master Class, and helping to lead a query workshop in the Compuserve Books and Writers' Forum, I still haven't nailed it. Here's my current best shot:

In 1938, Poland is on the brink of war. Change is coming, and pressure on the gypsy people continues to mount. Zia, a young Romani woman, struggles to live a traditional life and preserve the culture she loves. But when her sister dies after being forced into a gypsy settlement, Zia decides to fight back, even if this means breaking the rules of the culture she treasures – a step that could lead to her banishment.

Branko offers Zia an alternative to fighting the establishment –work with him and the Gypsy King to create a Romani homeland, where the Rom will be free to live as they choose. But when Zia discovers the betrayal from within, she must give up her hatred of the gadje and join with them, or watch her people be destroyed by the Nazi’s.

Well, something like that.

The conflict rests in pressure to change. One pressure comes from the Polish government, which wants the gypsies to give up their traditional, nomadic way of life and move into settlements.

So what's the big deal? Running water...protection from rain and cold...ability to obtain steady employment. What's not to like? In my story, why is travel, movement, nomadism so important? Why is preserving the traditional culture so essential to Zia? What does she stand to loose?

And then it occurred to me. The gypsies had large, extended families and social groups. In traveling from place to place, they crossed paths with various groups, passed along messages and invitations to important events (e.g., weddings), shared information about the political environment in various locals, and maintained ties. Without travel, they'd be all but cut off from their extended circle of family and friends.

Travel was their equivalent to internet social networking!

Imagine if you were cut off from your internet social network - all of it (e-mails, forums, blogs, facebook, twitter, myspace, etc...). Oh, and no telephone either. You'd miss your friends, sure (and possibly get more done on your wip ~g~). Maybe it wouldn't be a great tragedy.

Now imagine there is only a small group of people you have contact with outside your internet social networks - your immediate extended family. Beyond this small group, you have no contact with people who share a similar history, or interests, or culture with you. You'll almost never see anyone outside this group again.

As writers, I assume many of you learn about the publishing industry and writing craft through contacts you've made on the internet. Imagine if you had to figure all this out, this "writing culture", while sitting alone at your desk, staring at a pad of paper with inkpen in hand! (Scared now?)

Now imagine that it's not just you, but everybody you know who is cut off from the network, because the government decided to pick on your specific group.

Okay, the analogy isn't perfect. But the epiphany I had yesterday is that nomadism allowed the gypsies to stay connected over time and long distances, much like today's social networks. Without travel (and modern communication systems), the gypsies become cut off into small, disjointed groups. They loose the interconnectedness that has helped maintain a fairly consistent culture across political boundaries and 1,000 years.

Why is this a culture worth preserving? I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes about the gypsies:

"Perhaps alone among the people of Europe the Gypsies have been able to resist the temptations and vanities of power and the presentations of patriotism and ideology. Gypsies are known to steal chickens and to cheat when selling cars, but they have never organized a war, never persecuted others, never manufactured bombs, never perpetuated industrial pollution". W. Cohn, The Gypsies, 1972

Book Promotion - Twitter Style

I'm totally fascinated by what authors do to promote themselves and their books -- What works? What doesn't? What's worth the time investment? Or the money investment?

My friend Linda Gerber has an incredible blog where she draws traffic not just by discussing her books and the writing process, and by calling attention to the writing of other excellent authors, but by running weekly contests and give-aways that generate a lot of traffic and loyalty for her blog.

As part of her New Year celebration, Linda has come up with an incredible idea (I think) that makes use of the latest and greatest of social networking. She's "publishing" a short story based on her popular YA "Death By" series in short installments on Twitter. If you'd like to follow along, here's the link for Aphra Connelly and Death by Deception.

So far, in her first day on Twitter, Aphra has 20 followers! The series is scheduled to run until April. Linda's next book, Death by Denim, will make its debut in May.

If you're not familiar with Twitter, it's a social networking site where all you see are status updates. Users are allowed 140 characters (that's characters - letters, spaces and punctuation - not words!) to provide an update. Your followers can comment on your updates, which will then appear on both your "page" and the friends "page". If what the friend has to say is interesting, theoretically their friends will come to your page to see the earlier parts of the conversation and, if they find your other posts interesting, will then follow YOU as well!

I think Linda's idea is an excellent one with huge potential, and harks back to the old days when Mark Twain published his books as serials in the newspapers. Free samples are a tried-and-true form of marketing that many companies use even today (ever been to the grocery store on Saturday morning?).

Many authors provide excerpts or shorts on their blog and/or website. But what's better for generating buzz than passing out slow samples that generate a desire for more? And since Twitter "pushes" information out to those who visit regularly, what better way to deliver the small tastes of the story, versus a blog that requires people to come visit (or at least check their blog readers). And not only will Aphra's followers receive updates, but if people comment on Aphra's exploits, those comments will appear on their own feeds, hopefully luring in a wider and wider net of Aphra fans and followers.

I know I'll be following along, both to see what Aphra gets up to in her newest adventure, and to see how many followers she develops over the next few months. And I'd love to hear what you think of Linda's idea.

If you've seen any innovative new book promotion ideas (yours or someone else's), share those here as well. As I said, I'm fascinated by the topic!

Cookies, Fencing and Tag

Wow! The last month has been entirely the busiest month I can remember in recent history (if we're counting only happy busy months), culminating with today. My daughter is having a cookie decorating party tonight (extending our annual tradition to her friends). So today, we baked 3 batches of sugar cookies, resulting in who knows how many cookies, and made 6 batches of royal icing resulting in 12 colors (including black!). And now I get to put my feed up for a few well deserved minutes.

While the women of my house spent the day in the kitchen, the men were off on more manly pursuits. My son competed in a fencing tournament today. I love to watch fencing. I missed the tournament today, but my husband took some good shots. My son's the one on the right. I can tell by the shoes!


I've been Bookwormed by Linda Gerber.


The Rules are:

1) Open the closest book- not a favorite or most intellectual book- but the book closest at the moment, to page 56
2) Write out the fifth sentence, as well as two to five sentences following
3) tag five innocents [or more]
4)Julie takes it a step further and suggests doing the same for your manuscript

Okay - this is tough for me. On my desk are html and Dreamweaver books - not exactly riveting reading! On the shelf behind me is my entire TBR pile (minus the 3 books down by the nightstand.)

So, I'm going to cheat. I picked a book about to leave my possession as a Christmas gift for my stepfather - Vlad: The Last Confession - The Epic Novel of the Real Dracula, by C.C. Humphreys. I saw Mr. Humprhey's speak at the Surrey International Writer's Conference. I'm a sucker for folks with an accent reading Shakespeare. I melted the first year at Surrey listening to Jack Whyte quote MacBeth. Listen to Mr. Humphrey's podcast if you want to see what I mean. But I digress.


I bought the book with my stepfather in mind, but hoped to get a chance to read it before I gave it away (he's a writer too, he'd understand). But time did not allow, so this may be my only chance. (Unless I can convince him to loan it to me when he's done.) So, onto Page 56:


"A slave was defined by having lost the right to choose. She would be borne in a palanquin to Mehmet's saray. He would take her any way he wanted. She would break a vial of pigeon's blood over him if she did not bleed enough. She would choose nothing for herself."

Since I'm not up to page 56 in my new rewrite, here something from page 5 of The Long Road (working title), by Jenny Graman Meyer (me!):

"A pebble skittered to a halt at her feet and she glanced down, puzzled. It was followed by an acorn, this one bouncing off her toe before it rolled to rest against the wheel of the vardo. She glanced toward the trees, and had to dodge a walnut headed straight for her head.

As if a ghost called by her thoughts, Mirek emerged from the trees surrounding the campsite."

Brothers...you know!


And I tag: Jo Bourne (who recently won a fresh-fiction award), Lottery Girl (who hasn't posted in way too long), Darlene Marshall (who recently posted some writing tips), Karen Henry (who posts frequently about Diana Gabaldon's writing), and Catherine Duthie (who needs to send me some new writing! I miss Jack)

Oh, Go Google Yourself

SOMETIMES WHEN I'M ALONE, I GOOGLE MYSELF...
(available from www.cafepress.com)

Admit it. You've done this too!

I was sitting around today while working, waiting for a report to run. The system was very slow, and I got bored. I'm not sure what triggered the thought, but I decided to Google myself. I have to admit this isn't the first time. (Do you think there is a support group for this sort of thing?)

I started with "Jenny Graman". This, my maiden name, I am relatively sure will be my pen name - should I ever need one. I found the typical stuff - and thanks to this blog, the real me (or at least the pen-name used-to-be real me) shows up. The fact that my blog is now the top result when searching on Jenny Graman (even though I haven't used this name for 20 years - other than on this blog) shows the power of setting up your blog or website before you're published - it gives the search engines time to find you, and rank you at or near the top.

Then I searched on "Jenny Meyer". I always get a kick out of this. I'm a well-known jewlery designer. I'm married to Spider Man! And, best of all, I own my own Literary Agency - what am I worried about? If I'd just finished the book, I apparently have an "in" into the publishing world!

I'm used to finding these listings when I search on Jenny Meyer. It's one of the main reasons that (1) I plan to use a pen name if I'm ever published and (2) I don't bother using a psuedonym when posting on the Compuserve forum and other places -- there are just too many of "me" to ferret out anything truly related to me.

This blog does not appear on the first few pages of listings. Apparently, separating your first and last name with your maiden name results in a lower ranking. In fact, there is no sign of the "real" Jenny Meyer on the first 5 pages Google returns.

But here's the one that really bugged me (and this is new from the last time I googled myself). The blog HERE, which nobody has posted in IN OVER A YEAR! appears on PAGE ONE of the Google search results. WHAT? Ironically, not only does this person share my name, but they write. I swear, the post in this blog about Jenny Meyer is not me!

So, besides morbid curiosity, what does this mean? Well, for one, separating your first and last name with something in the middle (like a maiden name) lowers your search engine ranking. As a published or want-to-be published author, getting a good ranking is part of the process.

Second, the content of your posts do contribute to higher rankings. If you want people searching on a particular topic to find you, include key words in your posts. If you write, say, about Polish gypsies, include those keywords in your posts, perhaps in your profile, in a welcome statement on your blog or website. As an experiement, I am going to check back in a few days and see if this particular blog post appears in the Google listings higher than page 5, since I've intentionally included "Jenny Meyer" several times. Should be interesting, right?

What else can you do to improve your search results ranking? Well, I'm no expert yet, but I have been reading up on the issue as it relates to my web design business. In the interest of having a good, searchable title and keywords , come back in a few days. I'm pulling together an post on things you can do to improve your blog search engine results!

* UPDATE: I've been doing lots of research, and have put together a series of articles on optimizing your blog, beginning in January. Be sure to stop back!

Thanksgiving Traditions

Growing up we never had a regular Thanksgiving tradition. We always celebrated the holiday, but the activity changed from year to year. My parents were divorced, and some years were "mom" years, some years were "dad" years. And even then, nobody in my family had a regular tradition - a huge family gathering, to mark the holiday. Even the food changed from year-to-year. There was something about this lack of stability, on this one particular holiday, that always bothered me.

One of the first things I did after getting married was start my own Thanksgiving tradition. Three month's newly wed and I had everyone over for Thanksgiving...my mom, my dad and stepmother, my sister, my half-sister. (Thanksfully, everyone gets along and this is a stress-free event as far as family relations goes.) Over the years, the families have grown - my mom is remarried, my sisters are married with children. Some years my husband's out-of-town family has attended (his brother was a regular for a number of years). We've had "stray" friends with no place else to go, family members with an occassional free holiday (this year my aunt attended). Most amazing, since my father's death a few years ago, my stepmother has remarried (creating what my husband likes to call my "staircase family" - step steps) and her husband attends. Last year, all three of his children and their families took our total up to 24 for the year!

Even with just our core group, we are up to 16, requiring 3 tables:


I love my Thanksgiving holiday. It's the tradition I created. It's "MY" holiday.

Have you posted about your Thanksgiving? Add a link here, I'd love to come read. Or do you have a unique Thanksgiving recipe you'd like to share, put it in here. What's a Thanksgiving post without a discussion of food?

Everyone has a Turkey recipe they love. It's the side dishes that make a tradition, IMO. Here's my recipe for Brussel Sprouts (a vegetable I otherwise hate, but love in this recipe - who can hate anything cooked in butter and cream!):

Brussel Sprouts with Marjoram & Pine Nuts:

3 Tbsp butter
½ cup pine nuts
1 ½ lbs fresh brussel sprouts, halved (or 1 ½ lbs frozen,
thawed, halved)
1 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
2 shallots
1 Tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
1/3 cup whipping cream

· Melt 1 Tbsp butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add nuts & stir until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer nuts to small bowl.
· Melt 1 Tbsp butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add sprouts & stir 1 minute.
· Add broth. Cover and simmer until sprouts are almost tender, about 7 minutes.
· Uncover & simmer until broth evaporates, about 5 minutes.
· Using wooden spoon, push sprouts to side of skillet. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in center of same skillet. Add shallots, sauté until tender, about 2 minutes.
· Stir in marjoram, then cream. Simmer until sprouts are covered with cream, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.
· Season with salt & pepper.
· Transfer brussel sprouts to platter. Mix in ½ pine nuts. Sprinkle with remaining nuts.

(Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill. Stir over medium heat to re-warm.)

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT TURKEY DAY.

What I Didn't Do Yesterday

I did not write yesterday.

I did not do the Thanksgiving grocery shopping. I did not clean the house, or do the laundry. I didn't even rake the leaves.

I did not spend time with my children, or my husband.

I did not critique queries in Writer's Exercises on the Compuserve Books and Writers Forum. I did not critique chapters for my critique group.

I didn't work.

I did not watch TV, or make Christmas cards, or finish that baby quilt.

What did I do?

Almost a year ago, a friend of mine lost her husband. Loosing a spouse must be difficult at any age, but as a young adult, I can't imagine the pain. For me, the hardest part would be the lost moments - those memories never made. The unrealized opportunities - because there just wasn't enough time.

It's been a difficult year for my friend, and emotions are still raw. But healing is a step by step process, and yesterday she took another big step. Three of us spent the day yesterday (and well into the evening) making a memory quilt. The quilt is made up of cut-up sections of her husband's pants and shirts, and while the process of cutting up the cloths to create the pieces was a tearful one, the process of sewing them together to form something new was a moment of healing.


So how did I spend my time yesterday? Just exactly the
right way.

Change

How do your characters react to change? How do they face the unexpected? How long does it take them to adjust, and how hard do they fight the change along the way?

I ask this now because the software is in flux over at the Books And Writer's Community today, and there is no telling at present if the changes are permanent or the accident of some programmer who forgot to drink his morning coffee and accidentally pushed the RED nuclear detonation button.

My observation of people is that, on the whole, people react better to change when (1) they expect it and (2) they have some say in what's going to happen - even if their suggestions aren't taken, people like to feel that they've been heard.

Changes are threatening. They move people out of their comfort zones. Unexpected changes, especially, tend to throw people off. People like the world to be predictable – no matter how unrealistic this desire.

Some people adapt smoothly, some with anger, some with rejection of the new status quo. Most people come around eventually, if they are invested enough in whatever it was that changed.

Change is certainly something that often gets our characters off their duffs. It is a change in the status quo, or a threat of some sort, that spurs characters into action at the beginning of the story. It's the Call to Adventure.

What change spurs your character into action? How hard does your character fight against that call? What actions do they take to Refuse the Call? Certainly, if the change or call is insignificant enough, characters may just turn their back. Look at your story. Is the call something that might really spur the character into action? Or are they just moving along because you want them to?

Is your character someone who embraces change? This presents a different sort of challenge as a writer. If your character is someone who rushes off to join every new fad, try every new product, explore every new avenue, then how do you create the tension and conflict necessary to move them through your story? What changes are threatening enough for them to Refuse the Call? Or, if they don't refuse but go rushing in headlong, what is important enough about that goal to make them fail to hesitate and consider the risks? Or how do you show your readers how foolhardy that headlong rush is, and create tension that way? How do you make the character believable?

So, take a few minutes today to consider your reactions to change and how your own emotions related to change relate to your characters. Are they like you or different? How hard do they fight against change? And how, in the end, do they ultimately embrace the change and move into their adventure?

Good luck!