Fantasy writer Lev Grossman wrote an article for the NY Times (read it here) in which he talked about how becoming a fantasy writer unleashed his creativity. He found his writing voice in the magical world.

Literary critics probably won't acknowledge that even the grandest fiction is, in a way, fantasy fiction. In order to create, writers go to a special spot in their imagination and it is from that place that their stories emerge.Whether writers create a town withering in the recession, send a boat down the Mississippi River, or fill a land with dragons, we mentally live in that world while we write about it.

I write murder mysteries. My heroine, Kyle Shannon, does not have physical form but she is very real to me. As I move her through the story, I fantasize about her. I feel her emotions. I hear her voice. I am aware of her hopes and dreams. What happens to her, happens to me, and then to my readers.

In creating Kyle's world, I examine my own. What she experiences is distilled from what happens around me. The great thing about being a fiction writer is that Kyle isn't bound by the constraints of the real world. She can survive on temp jobs. She can go places I would never go and she can know people I am not likely to meet.

No matter where a story is based or how the hero moves through it, fantasy plays a role. Relationships, wants, and needs form the centerpiece of all plots no matter where the story is set. A woman solving a murder, an explorer on Mars, or boy waving a wand each face a challenge and must somehow overcome it. The genre is where the writer finds a home but all fiction is fantasy and all writers live in a fantasy world.

LIBRARIES STEALING RIGHTS?

According to the article posted at: http://www.writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/005522_08052009.html, libraries are grabbing rights from unsuspecting writers. Authors, who want to donate a copy of their book to local libraries, are sometimes asked to sign a “gift contract.” Thinking they are signing a donor acknowledgment form, writers are actually signing away the rights to their work.

I grant there is a big difference between my donation of a single copy of a Kyle Shannon mystery and the donation of a collection of rare books. Perhaps the libraries that take rights intend only to affect the second type of donation. However the moment they use the same form for the Kyle Shannon book as for the rare collection, they cross a line.

Let’s take a quick look at what these libraries are communicating through this behavior:

1. Theft and cheating are OK.
The library advocates stealing. They cheat authors out of their rights by disguising a surrender-of-rights document as a donor acknowledgement form. Royalties and the sale of written work is how writers make their income. By stealing rights, libraries are literally taking away a writer’s grocery money.

2. Nothing is more important than money.
One must assume that the reason libraries are stealing rights from authors is for money. Imagine the lucky library that acquires the rights to the next international best seller (a certain youthful wizard comes to mind) through these nefarious methods. They will be sitting on the proverbial gold mine.

3. No one can be trusted.
Libraries are generally run by elected officials and are supported by tax dollars. Is this the handiwork of more crooked politicians or are the librarians themselves at fault? In either case, apparently writers cannot trust anyone, not even the local librarian.

I have several friends who are librarians. One called this practice “scary.” I agree. What are we to think when libraries sponsor writers groups and then steal rights? I grant that writers should be more aware and careful about what they sign. I cannot say the same for the libraries. It is obvious that many of these gift contracts were written by attorneys. The libraries know exactly what they are doing.

We count on libraries to support us, not to appropriate our livelihood.

Our Past Can Speak to Our Present

I’ve kept a journal for years in a Week-at-a-Glance calendar. That format kept the entries short as just a few lines are allotted to each date. I told myself that if I had limited space, I would be more apt to write a bit each day. And that proved to be true. I have about twelve years of personal history recorded in those calendars.

Recently I decided to read through my journals because I was looking for specific information to use in the fourth Kyle Shannon mystery. I was out of touch with one part of my life and since it is the subject of my next novel, I needed to revisit it.

While I read, I discovered something in those pages I wasn’t expecting. Approximately every three months, I had a cold, sinus infection or bronchitis and it always the worst in the spring and fall. Aha, you say. Allergies. I had the same reaction.

I’ve taken enough antibiotics in my life to keep Abbot Laboratories in business for the next twenty years so I began allergy treatments with an acupuncturist. I am pleased to say that the treatments are helping.

The subject matter of this blog is communication. When I started it, I expected to write commentary on advertisements, things I saw in the news, or my writing journey. I had no idea that the Linda of the past would be communicating so significantly with the Linda of the present.

Years from now, your journal will remind you of how you felt when your neighbor passed away or when your child brought you a lightning bug in a jar. You’ll remember the warm winters, the cool summers, and all the little bits of life that make up the bad times and the good. Your journals may even help you recognize a health care need.

People tell me that they don’t have time to keep a journal. I suggest that everyone has five minutes per day. That’s about all the time it took me to jot a few quick sentences into those Week-A-Glance calendars. I urge you to do it, too. The payoff may come years from now and it may surprise you.

Just Starting Out

Many of my writer friends encouraged me to start a blog. Obviously the purpose is to promote my work and thus facilitate books sales. However, I suspect there's more to it than that. As I read other blogs, I realize that people have interesting points of view and often have very good ideas about a number of things. So here I am, writing my first post and thinking about communication. A broad topic, I admit.

For blogs, it's all about content and I realize I will say more and the readers will get more here than in most 30-second sound bites on broadcast news. It is obvious, however, that the audience here is infinitely smaller and therefore, I have little impact. Still, if my musings strike a chord so both writer and reader enjoy the exchange, we will have accomplished a level of communication. And if we both have cups of coffee in front of us, so much the better.

I love to write. I also love to eat. To buy groceries (there's a topic), I work full time. My postings will appear only weekly or unless there is something about which I feel compelled to expound. In addition, I know my fans want me working on the next Kyle Shannon mystery and I do not want to disappoint them.

So, here we are, a brief start to test the waters. Welcome and I'll communicate with you soon.