Posts from the “Writing” Category

Need an Editor? No Money? No problem.

Posted on June 22, 2012

I don’t use Word’s grammar checker (which most often incorrectly flags fragments in my fiction), maybe out of grammer-nerd hubris or simply because it’s never correct.

Yet as a freelancer and given the lean state of publishing, my success depends on being very good at editing my own work, so I do it the old fashioned way (i.e. printing out pages to edit on paper, reading out loud, and so on). But when I heard about Smart Edit, only available for PC (sigh), my pulse quickened and I dreamed of gaining that technological edge.

Smart Edit is a free, downloadable word processing tool that will track some pretty helpful aspects of your novel or work in progress. Things like adverb use, cliches, repeated words, errant auto-corrects (ex: from/form). I would love to try it. Right now.

Alas, my MacBook won’t let me. So instead, I’m going to play around with the site’s character name generator. Jason Chickles, anyone?

Categories: Amusements, Editing, Grammar, Writing

Not the Mainland’s Moleskine

Posted on January 14, 2011

As with my recent moratorium on book buying (though that didn’t stop me from asking for a few, just a few, for Christmas), I also forbid myself from buying more notebooks–at least until my shelves–yes, shelves–of them begin to deplete.

Well, I might just have to break that rule now that I know about Interisland Terminal‘s collaboration with Moleskine.

This limited edition large, 240-page notebook has squared, acid-free pages–perfect for developing ideas, taking notes, or sketching–and is fronted by an embossed “map” of the Hawaiian archipelago designed by junior graphic designer Angelica Rabang.

This, too, can be yours for $25, with all proceeds siphoned over to support Interisland Terminal’s Contemporary Art, Film and Design programs. You can learn more about I.T. here.

Pre-order on their website, and pick up at Native Books in Ward Warehouse, or have them shipped to you for five bones.

Categories: Amusements, Writing

Arts: Not Missing in Action

Posted on June 7, 2010

Sometimes it just takes a little fresh blood to energize an island literary community.

Enter Jaimie Gusman, a UH grad student in poetry recently arrived from Seattle. Her monthly reading series at Mercury Bar, cheekily dubbed Mixed Innovative Arts (MIA), is injecting choice words into Chinatown’s arts scene while bridging the gap between the state’s authors, poets and performers.

“The idea for M.I.A. is to build a community, not only for UH graduate students but for local musicians, writers, performers and visual artists,” says Gusman, who got the idea after volunteering at The Round performance series in Washington. “Variety is everything, and I think it’s important to showcase all genres.”

Like bringing local small presses together to share their best work; spotlighting a jazz pianist, poet, short story writer and improv group on one night, and soon, importing mainland and international talent. This way, Gusman hopes, the artistic dividing line can be blurred through entertaining evenings of creative collaboration.

Second Wednesdays, 7.30 pm, Mercury Bar, Chinatown, O’ahu, 808-292-9637 **Check here for summer updates.

Categories: Art and Architecture, Events, fiction, Poetry, Writing

Dear Fictional Character,

Posted on May 12, 2010

Addressed to Toru Okada, the protagonist of Haruki Murakami’s amazing novel, THE WIND UP BIRD CHRONICLE.

Dear Toru-san,

Please forgive me contacting you unannounced. If my overture is undesirable, do not hesitate to erase this letter and my name from your memory.

I continue to feel sad and confused about your missing cat, Noboru Wataya. I can almost hear his distinctive meow in my imagination—if only I could see a photo. What happened to him, and to your wife? How you are feeling now?

I know you have been meeting a lot of strange people, and you always seem so open to new experiences, so I thought I’d take a chance and invite you to my home for a simple spaghetti dinner. There, I hope you might reveal the truth behind this mystery. I also have my own theories, so perhaps we will have a true meeting of minds.

If not, we’ll at least have some pasta to enjoy (it’s a recipe from a restaurant in Italy I went to last summer), and I’ll play the latest recording of the London Symphony so we have the option of listening instead of talking.

I so look forward to your reply.

Best,

Christine

PS: I will also turn off my phone so mysterious callers don’t interrupt us.

–Written for Letters with Character.
Let’s see yours!

Categories: Amusements, Events, fiction, Japan, Writing

The Library of the Imagination

Posted on June 19, 2009

Here’s a group after my own heart. The Invisible Library project catalogues fictional books that exist purely in fictional works, such as CAULFIELD, D.B.: The Secret Goldfish—from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye or TAYBACK, F.L. (“Four Leaf”): Tropic Thunder—from the Ben Stiller film Tropic Thunder.

Now they’ve begun their first solo exhibition, transforming a gallery space in London’s Cecil Court into “an imaginary library filled with books that have been alluded to in novels, but have never actually existed…until now.” They’ve chosen forty titles from the Invisible Library blog, and illustrated the covers.

The INK group will be in-residence for one month, through July 9, hosting workshops and events. And, by the end, these once non-existent books’ pages will be filled–by attendees and workshop participants who are free to “sign-out” these “library books” and start or continue the newly created narratives penned within.

Don’t I wish I could pop in.

Categories: Art and Architecture, Events, Writing

Should I Read Fiction while Writing Fiction?

Posted on June 17, 2009

I have my own answer to this question, (I’ll save posting it for when someone asks me), which was engendered when, in the midst of procrastinating about a lot of reading and writing that needs to be done, and after cleaning up various areas of my house, I came across a very cool new site called Dear Literary Ladies.

Nava Atlas has this month begun combing through female author’s books, letters, interviews and such for their advice about everyday writers’ pressing questions, and poses them in Q&A format. That means questions such as Should I Take Time Off Work to Write Full Time? (that one’s answered by Flannery O’Connor), and a paragraph where Anais Nin “tackles” a writer’s audience and purpose.

Rumor has it Atlas may be going on a summer work-holiday, so even if new posts are slow in coming, I still think Dear Literary Ladies is a site to watch.

Categories: Amusements, Writing

Things to Think About

Posted on April 28, 2009

1) There’s till time to enter the Hint Fiction contest, which ends midnight April 30th. If you don’t know what hint fiction is–seriously?–it’s creating a story that’s 25 words (not including title) but still a story. Stewart O’Nan — author of Songs for the Missing (I reviewed it for the Miami Herald) — is the final judge. Winner gets $25 amazon gc.

2) It happily appears to be true that not only the first female poet, but one who is openly gay, will succeed my writing mentor Andrew Motion as the UK’s next poet laureate. Carol Ann Duffy is soon to be chosen, so they say.

3) Coughing and sneezing like it’s 1976–check out these PSAs on swine flu from the ’70s, and then follow the cases on Google Maps. Geez.

4) A few spots are left in Rebecca Walker’s ART OF MEMOIR workshop on Maui, June 14-21. According to Walker (the daughter of Alice), you can expect “morning work periods, evening readings, marketing strategy sessions, plenty of free time to enjoy the island, and one-to-one meetings with Rebecca. Key elements of writing and publishing memoir, including theme, voice, structure, genre, and querying agents and publishers in the quickly changing publishing industry will be explored throughout.“

5) Remember late author James D. Houston in your prayers, who died last week; may he rest in peace. Throughout his esteemed writing career, Houston has authored nine novels and many books of nonfiction. His stories and essays have been anthologized and have appeared in myriad publications from the New York Times and the New Yorker, to Honolulu Magazine and Manoa Literary Journal. His last novel, Bird of Another Heaven, vividly positions readers inside King Kalakaua’s inner circle, following a half-Hawaiian, half-Native American girl from California who becomes a mistress of the Merrie Monarch. Read more about Houston in Jacket Copy.

6) Just for fun, read Eric Puchner and Katharine Noel’s humorous essay about what it’s like to be married to another novelist.

Categories: Events, memoir, Poetry, Roundups, Writing

Freelance Writer Alert

Posted on March 27, 2009

Check out this Hawai`i Freelancer Alert I received via email, and let me know your thoughts. Do you think this is fair or unfair?

In my opinion and experience this contract is egregious. Writers should be paid per use of their work any time it is “republished,” and should have full rights within 1-3 months after publication. Trying to get writers’ work for free is not a viable business plan for newspapers and magazines.

Letter to Freelancers:

Aloha freelance writers, photographers and other colleagues:

We, the undersigned freelance writers and photographers working for Hawai‘i magazines, would like to alert you to a serious situation that could impact your livelihood.

Pacific Basin Communications publishes several magazines including Honolulu, Hawaii Business, Hawai‘i and hawaii home + remodeling. The company is demanding that its freelance writers and photographers sign a contract that could put the freelancer in legal jeopardy. Because of that, and because we think the contract is unfair in other ways, some of us have refused to sign the contract. We ask you to consider whether you too might wish not to sign the contract.

Under #2, paragraph b, the contract states in part:

“After 12 months, all rights secured in the published Works shall revert to the Freelancer – except that already existing web pages may remain on PBC’s web sites and that PBC will be able to republish (and re-use in the same manner and to just as great an extent) the published Works or portions of it for archival, historical or editorial purposes.”

This word “editorial” may be construed to mean that, at any time in the future, Pacific Basin can re-publish your freelance story or photograph in any of its present or future publications without being obligated to pay you any additional fee. In contrast, other publishers pay additional fees for subsequent editorial use. And the “Fair Contracts Statement” from The Society of American Travel Writers (1,300+ members) says that it “believes in fair and equitable contracts for the services of its freelance members. Payment should be per use, whatever the form or medium.”

Pacific Basin doesn’t even have to notify you that it’s re-using your work.

Even worse than your loss of a fee and control of your work, this agreement could put you in legal jeopardy with another publisher. Here’s how: Pacific Basin’s contract demands exclusive use of your story or photo for 12 months. After that, you may resell your work to another publisher; but, according to Pacific Basin’s contract, the company retains the perpetual right to republish your work at any time in any of its publications, even ones that don’t currently exist.

However, if you subsequently sell the story or photo to another publisher, you will likely have to sign their contract stipulating that they now have exclusive rights to the story or photo for a defined length of time. But, if during this period of exclusivity, Pacific Basin exercises the clause in its contract to republish your work, you will have broken your agreement to grant the subsequent publisher exclusive rights to your work for that time.

This means that you can never again, without fear of a lawsuit, resell a story or photo to another publisher after you’ve sold it to Pacific Basin.

One of us signatories below (Bill Harby) wrote twice to the president of Pacific Basin, John Alves, and explained these concerns, asking him to delete the word, “editorial.” Both times Mr. Alves refused to make any revisions whatsoever to the contract.

So, with all this in mind, we ask you to consider very carefully before you sign the Pacific Basin freelance contract. If you don’t want to expose yourself to a lawsuit, if you don’t feel you are being treated fairly, you may choose not to sign. And if you have already signed this contract, you may choose not to work with Pacific Basin’s publications anymore unless they are willing to amend the contract.

Though we have other issues with the Pacific Basin freelance contract (we’d like to see the 12-month period of exclusivity reduced to 6 months, and to be paid separately for each use in any medium), we only ask for one revision: the deletion of the word “editorial” under #2, paragraph b.

Individually, we freelancers are powerless to affect the way we’re treated by powerful publishing companies. That’s why most Hawai‘i editorial freelance fees have risen so little over the last 20 years or so. But if we act together, we may cause the companies that rely on our skills and talent to treat us fairly.

Thanks for considering. Please feel free to pass this message along to any writers, photographers, bloggers, or anyone else who may be interested.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact Bill Harby at billharby@hawaiiantel.net or 808-985-8558.

A Hui Hou,

Bob Bone, writer
Sally-Jo Bowman, writer
Tiffany Edwards Hunt, writer
Jocelyn Fujii, writer
Bill Harby, writer, photographer
Brad Goda, photographer
Valerie Y.O. Kim, photographer
G. Brad Lewis, photographer
Tony Novak-Clifford, photographer
Robbyn Peck, photographer
Doug Peebles, photographer
Anthony Pignataro, writer
Saul Rollason, writer
Franco Salmoiraghi
Dave Smith, writer
Sophia V. Schweitzer, writer
Kathy Titchen, writer
Cheryl Tsutsumi, writer
John W. White, writer
Christine Thomas, writer

Categories: Writing

Farewell, Mr. Macmillan

Posted on December 22, 2008

Through a friend at the University of Hawai’i, I have learned of the passing late last week of Hawai’i author and UH writing professor Ian Macmillan. The loss of his distinctive contribution to literature and Hawai’i writers and readers will be felt throughout the islands, by many who knew him and learned from him.

Ian MacMillan was a veteran and prolific author of short fiction and novels, including a trilogy of World War II novels published by Viking-Penguin: Proud Monster, Orbit of Darkness, and Village of a Million Spirits—which won the 2000 Pen USA-West Award for Fiction; and three Hawai’i novels: Red Wind, The Braid, and Seven Orchids—which in 2007 won a Ka Palapala Po’okela honorable mention for Excellence in Literature.

His work appeared in more than 100 literary and commercial magazines. His stories were taught in local schools like the Punahou Academy, and were included in prize anthologies, winning him, as just a few examples, an O. Henry award, Pushcart Prize, and Best American Short Story Award.

He also generously contributed to the development of local writers through his steadfast commitment to teaching in the UH Manoa Creative Writing Program, where he influenced many now successful authors since 1966.

Ian MacMillan lived in Hawai’i for 40 years, earned his BA from the State University of New York, Oneonta in 1965 and in 1966 his MFA from the University of Iowa. Sadly his wife died just 20 days before him. He is survived by his daughters.

At the end of 2006, I interviewed Ian for my Advertiser column What I’m Reading. Here’s his full interview, again, in remembrance.

What I’m Reading | Ian MacMillan
Writer; Professor of Creative Writing, UH Manoa

Q&A with Christine Thomas
December 2006

Q. What are you reading?

A. I’m always halfway through a number of books. The one I’m reading now is part for interest and part for research: A.O. Bushnell’s “The Gift of Civilization: Germs and Genocide in Hawaii.” It’s probably the most important and best out-of-print book I know of. It’s about the diseases after Captain Cook. I bought this a little less than a year ago because of research I’m doing for a book I’m writing, but it’s fascinating in itself.

Another one is Kurt Vonnegut’s “Time Quake.” I try to read Vonnegut because he was my advisor at Iowa during graduate school. Another is called “The Bear Went Over the Mountian,” a satire by William Kotzwinkle. It’s a funny book.

Q. Which one most captures your imagination?

A. The Bushnell, just because the information is fascinating. Bushnell was a novelist and also a microbiologist, so he knew all about this situation of the effect of important microbes and imported germs on the population here. He explains all that and why it happened the way it did. You realize how important it is. He’s very accurate and the implications are still in place today.

Q. Is your new book related to today’s fight against foreign plants and animals?

A. It’s a historical novel set in Hawai`i. Bushnell’s book covers the time period I’m dealing with, the late eighteenth century.

Q. Do you read a lot when you’re working on something new, or just for research?

A. I don’t have any problem reading while I’m writing. What I read most is my creative writing students’ work. So switching from their writing to something I’m working on is no problem.

Q. Does what you read inform not only your new writing, but your advice to your students, a new crop of Hawai`i writers?

A. I just read to get a good story. What made me want to read Bushnell was the information; then I realized how important it was when I started reading.

Categories: Hawaii Authors, Interviews, Writing

My New BFF

Posted on October 30, 2008

As November approaches, many of you may be thinking something like the following (and please, never say “think to yourself” which is my newest writerly pet peeve. Can you think to anyone else? No.):

1) November? I thought it was March.
2) Crikey, holiday gift time again!
3) the old standby Where the hell did the year go?
4) One more chance to make a good impression–on the world (on November 4).

Yet some of us–yours truly included–are also about to think and say some form of Ready? Set? Go! when National Novel Writing Month kicks off November 1. This self-described kamikaze writing marathon began nearly 10 years ago in San Francisco with about 21 participants and has grown in leaps and bounds (100,000 psychotic participants wrote their hands off in 2007), despite requiring people to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel in one month.

At this point what most people are thinking, other than Why?, can’t be reprinted here. But I think if you’re asking why, there’s no point explaining (and a true writer would never ask).

Obviously, writing a novel in a month requires one thing: output, and plenty of it. “It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly,” say the NaNoWriMo folks. It also requires you to write about 6 pages every day. Of the month.

So, as I suppose this post visibly commits me, I’ll be logging in my word count to the NaNoWriMo site, and uploading a counter to my blog so anyone who is interested can check my progress. Expect some excerpts should I really take this ‘lowering expectations’ thing so to heart I believe my readers have lowered theirs as well, and perhaps some updates about what it’s really like out in the field. And of course it’s very likely that I will be offering less posts here in general; maybe I’ll just have time to share a snapshot of my desk in progress. (speaking of, if you haven’t already, check out the desk of writer and critic A. Alvarez, which he’s offered up over at the Guardian.)

The best part–you too can take part in this write-a-thon. Then we can all write. We can commiserate. We can party like literati when we’re done.

So, any takers?

(Still confused? Visit How NaNoWriMo Works)
Photo courtesy NaNoWriMo

Categories: Amusements, Events, My Events, Writing

Literary Lotus

I travel. I read. I write.

Posts from the “Writing” Category

Need an Editor? No Money? No problem.

Posted on June 22, 2012

Not the Mainland’s Moleskine

Posted on January 14, 2011

Arts: Not Missing in Action

Posted on June 7, 2010

Dear Fictional Character,

Posted on May 12, 2010

The Library of the Imagination

Posted on June 19, 2009

Should I Read Fiction while Writing Fiction?

Posted on June 17, 2009

Things to Think About

Posted on April 28, 2009

Freelance Writer Alert

Posted on March 27, 2009

Farewell, Mr. Macmillan

Posted on December 22, 2008

My New BFF

Posted on October 30, 2008

Posts from the “Writing” Category

Posted on June 22, 2012

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