More Writing Myths for Busting

"How many of us have been held back by myths? ....I’d like to add my own favorite writing myths to be busted. (Whether these are myths or delusions, I’ll leave to you to decide.) 1. You have to be neurotic to be a good writer/poet/artist/actor.
Reality: Health and happiness are ever-so-much-more-pleasant states of being.
You don’t need to be miserable to be a successful creative artist! If, however, you like creating suffering characters, what you do need is empathy. That, plus observational skills. Of course, you’ll still tap into your own experiences to some extent as you write, but you don’t need to go to extremes in your own behavior. All you need is to amplify a quality to make it stand out in a character. In other words, the personality quirk that allows someone to justify stealing a car is not that different from the person who steals a paperclip."
Read the rest of my article at Buried Under Books, then, add some of your own myths that deserve busting!

When is a Picture Book Not Just a Picture Book? Ed Young's The House Baba Built

This beautiful book captures author-illustrator Ed Young's life in Shanghai during World War II. He tells a story that will captivate young and old alike, a story that functions on many levels. Most touchingly, it is a tribute to his father, whose concern for his family led him to build the house, and whose message to his children has been carried out in Ed Young's numerous books over the past fifty-some years.
The message is basically this: Be a good person; do good work.
Ed Young can be seen in this BBC video, discussing the book, its meaning, and how it was made.

Plagued by Plot?—Try Logic!

How do writers deal with plotting? And how do they deal with being stuck with the plot? Find out what these squiggles to the left mean and how they can help solve the most intractable plot problem in my essay at the blog Buried Under Books.

Intricacies of Life

Everything in life is interconnected. They say a butterfly's wing beating can create an effect across the world. All the more so a wave in the ocean. Not only the force of the wave as it travels, but the thousands of big and littles ways that the wave and its aftermath touches the lives of so many. A picture of a boat on the roof of a building, amidst absolute desolation. How does one move a ship off a building? How does one start to clean up?

Ninth Annual Write of Spring at Once Upon a Crime

Don't ask me how they do it, cramming a dozen mystery writers and fans and books galore per hour into a tiny space. Somehow Pat and Gary at Once Upon a Crime manage to do it every year. So much so, that they are this year receiving the Mystery Writers of America's Raven Award for service.
Independent bookstores like this, feed on an ongoing basis, the thirst of many a reader, and help maintain the fabric of our communities. The staff has read practically every mystery under the sun, they know what else you might enjoy, and they provide a warm atmosphere in which to explore your literary tastes. As a Publishers Weekly Shelftalk blogger just wrote, "We [bookstores] want to the store to be a place you come in when you’re sad and need to smell the books to feel better or get a hug from someone who is sad that you’re having a terrible day. We want to be the store you can call at closing and we’ll leave a book you need for a present on the doorknob for you to pick up after work .... We pay sales and property taxes that fund the schools, the roads, and the Little League field and we’re happy to do it. We bring authors to the schools and host wonderful, free events for the whole community.  We need you as much you need us."
Once Upon a Crime is just one of the many bookstores that fit this bill (and the Twin Cities is lucky to have many good bookstores of all stripes, including chains). They support authors, and we authors like to support them, in return, through events such as this.
This year, I'll be appearing with just a few of my mystery-writer buddies---forty-nine, to be exact--- Saturday, April 2, 2011, from 12–4 pm. Once Upon a Crime is located at 604 West 26th Street (near Lyndale Avenue South) in Minneapolis. Among some of the authors appearing: Monica Ferris, Laura Childs, Susan Runholt, Mary Logue, Steve Thayer, and many more. Here's the link to the store.
We'll be happy to see you!

Fact-checking is Good

Detail of postcard from c. 1910, Minnesota Historical Society collection.

It's never too early to start fact-checking. While working on a children's story about Duluth, I paused to check a couple of facts about Duluth's iconic Aerial Bridge. I began with using the great online resource of the Minnesota Historical Society, and local resources such as the Duluth Public Library and the wonderful Lake Superior Maritime Museum. These led me to talk to Tony Dierckins, author of Crossing the Canal: An Illustrated History of Duluth's Aerial Bridge and to read his fabulous book.
The bridge is the centerpiece of Duluth's tourist attractions, and has been since it was completed in 1905. Until the harbor freezes up each winter (the lake is so big that it doesn't freeze except along the shore), the bridge goes up and down many times each day—halfway up for the Vista Queen and other small but tall-masted craft. But when the big shiphorns exchange salutes with the bridge operator and the lift bridge goes up all the way, that's when crowds gather to see the huge oreboats and "salties" go through the canal.
These days, the bridge is commonly called the "Lift Bridge." My research taught me that one should, however, never make assumptions. If you look closely at this photo, maybe you can see what I mean.