WHEN LIFE IS AT ITS BUSIEST - TAKE A BREATH

Lately I have found there is much too much to do and not enough time to look, think, ponder or even breath. Not good, especially for a creative person. Definitely not enough time to laugh - especially to laugh at life's moments.

Yesterday was the gathering of my weekly writers group at Borders. I do LOVE our Borders store. The staff and management there are so welcoming and accommodating. It's a bit like a mini-library with benefits galore.

So there we were, the six of us - gathered around our two tables pushed together, papers out, coffees on the table (hoping no one spills anything), sharing the news of the week. One of us has just been signed by an agent who sounds like she must have been a heavenly angel in her previous life. Another one has just returned from caring for a daughter-in-law who had major surgery and an elderly mother. Needless to say, she is more than qualified to writer about the "sandwich generation."

So, the assignment for the week was to read and critique one member's submission from the previous week. We go around the table - one at a time. First the summary and then page by page - punctuation, flow, typos, the whole kit and caboodle. And there are six of us, remember. The writer/submitter only gets to take notes or to answer a question if specifically asked. No defending. No clarifying unless asked. (But we are not brutal either. On the other hand, if we don't understand something, why should the writer assume any other reader will?)

I took last dibs yesterday. I have a tendency to be a bit "creative" in my critiques - offering suggestions about how a sentence might have more punch with a word change - or breaking one sentence into two - or changing one word for another. Or moving an ending paragraph to a different position. Or asking what if you did this instead of that. Just a thought, nothing more than a thought to ponder.

Well, in the middle of one of those - "think it would have more punch" kind of remarks, a gentleman from a nearby table comes by - probably on his way to get another coffee - and interjects, "I think what you all are doing is great!"

It was a bit startling, I will admit. But we are a friendly group so we turned to him and said, "thanks" - or words to that effect.

"I've been listening to you all. I think your group is just great. I teach writing at the local community college. You people are really good."

We didn't say who or what we were. It was just nice to have the "approval." Maybe he overheard something that will end up in his classroom this week.

One just never knows what will go out over the air or where it will land.

(Gee, I'm glad we weren't reviewing/critiquing a sex scene. We have been known to do that, too. Certain ones of us always want to make it more steamy. Even the gentleman in the group likes it steamy. And then there is the question of what to call certain components or actions..... We can be sooo creative. LOL)

SEASONS AND THEIR CHANGES

This past week has been a challenge with temperatures in the very high 90s. I will admit, 96, 97 degree days with or without humidity drains everything out of me, creativity, happiness, the ability to even sleep or desire to eat. (And that's a hard one to whip.)

Nights don't seem to bring any respite and so, upon rising I am even more tired, if possible, than I was when falling on the bed the night before. In truth, I can not imagine living in the deep south. Just watching old film noir stories like "To Kill a Mockingbird," where everyone is wiping his or her face with a handkerchief to remove the beads of perspiration, leaves me sticky and irritable. I don't know how they all managed to survive without killing off half the population during those hot, humid days that seemed to last forever. And yet, that is just what it has been like here for the last week. And we had other weeks like that earlier this summer. During such days, I fine impossible to write or work on the current manuscript. One can hardly conjure up a good murder when one just wants to kill any and every thing that moves.

And so along came "Earl." I know, people down along North and South Carolina had a totally different perspective than I about Earl - and rightly so. Down there, Earl was a down right unpleasant and unruly, not to mention unwelcome caller. But, by the time he came visiting up here in Maine, he'd run out of steam and he'd been pushed aside, so to speak, by some cold air giving him a good thumping from Canada. And so, when Earl arrived around 4AM Saturday morning, he had no wind left in his sails. Literally. No enough to blow out a match. Certainly nothing compared to this morning. For truth.

But Earl did bring more than three inches of sorely needed rain to the area where I live. (Thank goodness. I can barely think what my water bill will be the next billing cycle since I have been watering the lawn and gardens for hours at a time every morning starting at 6AM until the heat said the water would be working upward instead of the other way and thereby a total waste of money.) In the process, the temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees, there's a good stiff breeze, and I can write again. I can sleep. I can fix a decent meal which will, in turn provide the energy to work on the next stage of this mystery with all of its twists and turns.

There is a nip in the air that smells like fall - not that I look forward to the season that follows. But fall has energy whereas hot summer days have none for me. It takes energy to plan a mystery. Energy to plan a murder. And energy to catch a killer. A good season is upon us. Now all I have to do is entice some good neighbor to bring in the dock before the water gets too cold. No place in this manuscript for a frigid body, or a dock dragged offshore by the ice that is yet to come.

YESTERDAY WAS BOUNTIFUL

Ever have the phone ring right when you're in the middle of writing an inspired passage? Me, too. The benefits of caller ID helps decide if you're going to pick up the phone or let it go to voicemail. Telemarketers usually hang up when the voicemail starts up. (I really do not like telemarketing and in spite of registering with the "NationalDoNotCall List", they still call - usually during the dinner and national news hours.)

So yesterday, when in the middle of the current novel (editing and polishing and wondering "What was I thinking!) the phone on the desk rings. "Caller Unknown. Location Unknown." Forget it, would be my normal reaction, but for some reason, I picked up the receiver and said, "Hello."

Good news sometimes arrives from "Caller Unknown" I have decided. Because that one caller was the new President of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. He was calling to let me know I have been named the recipient of the 2010 Writers Retreat Scholarship - and there is only one. YabaDabaDo!

Needless to say, no more work on the novel. I just wasn't in a "killer mode."

Maybe I should answer "Caller Unknown" calls more often. No, I think yesterday was just an exceptional day. We all need them every once in a while.

MWA UNIVERSITY IN BETHESDA, MD

The pilot program for MWA University (otherwise known as MWAU) was held at The Writers' Center on Walsh Street Saturday, August 14. Co-sponsored by MWA's national Board of Directors and the Mid-Atlantic MWA Chapter, I'm so pleased I was at the First MWAU. THIS was a learning experience unlike typical writers' conferences.

The presenters (and teachers) were Jess Lourey (author of Murder-by-the Month mysteries and a tenured professor of English and sociology at a two-year Minnesota college) who spoke on After The Idea. Great handouts, too.

Next was Hallie Ephron (author of psychologoical suspense Never Tell a Lie, crime fiction book reviewer for the Boston Globe, and author of the Edgar-nominated Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel), spoke on Dramatic Structure & Plot.

The final morning presenter was Daniel Stashower who is a two-time Edgar award winner, and a recipient of the Raymond Chandler Fulbright Fellowship in Detective and Crime Fiction Writing. Dan's presentation on Setting & Description was not only beneficial, but his humor and comparative examples kept everyone involved.

After a one-hour lunch break, the afternoon session began with Donna Andrews talking about Character & Dialogue. Donna is the award-winning NYT bestselling author of sixteen novels and founding member of the Mid-Atlantic chapter of MWA.

Reed Farrel Coleman got everyone involved with his topic of Writing as Re-Writing. It was nice to hear Reed discuss his person process of dealing with writing and editing as a continuing process. Reed has been twice nominated for the Edgar (MWA's top annual honor) and three-time winner of the Shamus Award. Reed is an adjunct professor of English at Hofstra University.

The last presenter was Hank Phillippi Ryan, a Boston TV reporter who has won 26 Emmys for her investigative jurnalism. She has also been the winner of two Agatha Awards in addition to being nominated for the Anthony, Agatha and Macavity. Hank (a woman for those unfamiliar with her work) spoke on The Writing Life - a perfect closing for the day's program. One might think it difficult to be the last speaker at such an event, but Hank got everyone's attention from the "get-go" by passing out miniature chocolate candies. Her presentation was just as encouraging and energizing.

Anyone who hears of a MWAU being held in their area should plan to attend. At $50. for MWA members and non-members alike, it was a bargain.

OFF TO THE MWA UNIVERSITY

Today will be one of travel to Portland, Maine in preparation of flying tomorrow. This coming Saturday will be the MWA University in Bethesda, MD. Looking forward to the sessions, even if not the projected thunderstorms.

Tonight, in Portland, in the grand 35 years celebration of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. Dinner with published authors in various restaurants followed by a Champagne and desert at the Portland Public Library and a dance. Congrats to MAPA and the many people who have made the organization (and tomorrow night's events) possible.

A NETWORK FOR MYSTERY WRITERS AND READERS

Check out www.Crimespace.com for a network of mystery, crime, thriller and suspense writers, readers and just fans. You can make "friends", ask questions, and read/comment of blogs. It's free - and a good source.

I'll be at a Mystery Writers of America (MWA) learning experience this coming weekend. Blogs resume here next week.

NOVELS CAN BE BASED ON THE IRONIES OF LABELS, IDEAS & PHRASES

This writer has often wondered at the irony of the conflict inherent in certain pat phrases we become accustomed to over time. Phrases like "Law and Order", "Peace Officers/Keeping the Peace and Law Enforcement", "Corrections and Rehabilitation" just for a few. Think about it.

The LAW is constant changing. ORDER is rather static. Maintaining Law and Order is not always compatible. It is somewhat like the age-old story of "the haves and the have-nots". Those who "have" will certainly want their version of order preserved. Those who considered themselves dis-enfranchised will be more inclined to want their version of order changed. The process of maintaining or changing is through both the evolution of the law and whatever other factors will generate more (goods, money, power, etc.) to the "have-nots", which by its very nature means less will be in the hands of the "haves." Sometimes that change is achieved peacefully through negotiation and compromise. Other times it is through rebellion and revolution. Somewhere, in the midst of that change (by whichever means) is that group of people charged with enforcing the law (and which law is often the question), - maintaining order (and whose order is the often question), - keeping the peace (among all of the people or only some is the question) without any question as to where they, as individuals, stand on the issue(s). And what if they, as individuals, feel conflict with their assigned duty?

As to the phrase "Corrections and Rehabilitation" - now there is an interesting idea. I did not say reality because there is little rehabilitation in the idea of corrections. As expensive as "corrections" is ($40,000+/annually per inmate in many state institutions), rehabilitation in the short-term is more. Inmates who would be eligible for rehabilitation programs are usually working in the institution, thereby reducing the cost of running the institution. If these same inmates were in rehab programs, that work might well have to be done by paid labor. On the other hand, rehabilitation is less expensive in the long-term because these individuals stand a better chance of not re-offending, of not coming back to prison.

Unfortunately, rehabilitation is not considered punishment in the minds of most voters. So while the title and label and department names may include the idea of changing behavior through rehabilitation, budgets are not paid with ideas. They are paid with voters' tax dollars. And campaigns are often waged on Law and Order promises. From such irony are interesting (and sometimes great) novels written.