writer - Barbara Delinsky

May 16, 2012

Do you talk to yourself?

Do you? I mean, out loud?

I didn’t used to. Only deranged people talk aloud to themselves, right? But there are certain circumstances now when I find myself doing it.

Like when I carry two super-heavy bags of groceries in from the car and heave them onto the kitchen counter. Okay, I grunt in relief when the first hits. Okay, I grunt when the second lands beside it.

I also talk to myself in times of frustration, like when someone cuts me off in traffic. You imbecile, I mutter under my breath, often using a more rude word than imbecile, but since I’m talking to myself, myself isn’t shocked. Are you in such a *** rush that you can’t be civil?

April 9, 2012

When characters are name-callers

Here’s another thought for those of you who are interested in the kinds of things a writer has to consider.

In a single stretch of dialogue, how often should the characters call each other by name? I’ve been hypersensitive about this lately, because I just read another book that, IMHO, did it very wrong.

Here’s an excerpt from Sweet Salt Air in which Charlotte and Nicole are discussing Cecily Cole. Cecily is the legendary island herbalist, alternately feared and adored. Her herbs, which are particularly strong, are what makes island food so special.

March 29, 2012

Novelist as shrink

So I’m re-reading Sweet Salt Air and seeing remarks about my characters’ emotional baggage. Take this brief excerpt. Charlotte, the main voice in Sweet Salt Air, is trying to explain to her BFF Nicole why she has never married.

“What terrifies me,” Charlotte said in a measured way, speaking from the heart as she couldn’t with anyone else, “is falling hard, getting hurt, and having to put my life back together again.”

“Like you did growing up.”

March 23, 2012

A watershed moment for Sweet Salt Air

I do try to blog several times a week, but it’s been ten days since my last post, and you loyal readers have Sweet Salt Air to blame. I’ve reached a critical point in the book – three hundred pages done, with the final climactic hundred ready to go. But … but … but …

Several sticking points. First, there’s a medical angle to this story, and though I’ve been working with a doctor in the Midwest since last summer, it’s suddenly showtime. That means re-reading everything he sent, making (another) list of questions for him, and, most importantly, firming up my timeline.

March 14, 2012

Why do I blog?

Let me make one thing clear. I don’t blog to express a political opinion. As a novelist, my taking a stand on anything political or religious is disastrous. When I talked here last week about civil discourse, it was to vent not about what we say but how we say it.

So there you go – one reason why I blog. I blog to vent about something, be it civil discourse, airport security, or plastic bags.

But there are other reasons. I mean, it’s not like I’m sitting around with nothing to do. I have to put blogging on my calendar, or else it gets lost in the shuffle of the daily writing, in this case, of Sweet Salt Air.

December 21, 2011

A knitter never sleeps, but she dreams

I’m so bad when it comes to afterwork, like weaving in ends and making pompoms. So I had six hats, all done but in need of finishing before I could send them off for the holiday. After procrastinating much of last weekend, I ran out of time. I had to mail them, or they’d never arrive on time!

The Patriots played Sunday. What better time could there be? I’m an avid fan, but I can’t bear to watch the game in progress. Hey, I read the ending of books first, because I can’t stand suspense. If you could tell me the outcome of a game, I could watch. Since you can’t, I don’t.