In passing…

You have GOT to be KIDDING ME!!!!!
I never was anyway, but now I am SO not a fan of Miramax. Eejits. (Via Fuse#8, who lit my fuse!)

Because of recent discussions with the Cybil Sisters regarding book covers — and the weirdness that follows when books go from hard cover to paper back (like this Kitty to this Kitty and this Impossible Life to this Life and then, somewhat randomly, this cover, which obscurely looks just like the newest Life, in what seems to be a copycat cover trend) (Mad link props to LW, reigning Queen of the book cover) and in part of our discussion of the Pretty Girlization of book covers, the book cover site we found via Fuse #8 is a nice find, and will give us more fodder for our conspiracy theories.

Okay, okay, my conspiracy theories, all right? My madness alone. Sheesh.

It was super brave of the Disco Mermaids to talk about their recent drama, even in a lighthearted way. In every critique group I have ever been in, just about every day week (esp. in grad school) there would be rise in the level of tension running through the room from something someone said, and once in awhile groups would gather during our tea break. Phrases like, “did you hear her say…” and “did he MEAN…” would hiss through the hallways, and because we were all so honestly tangled up in our manuscripts, cradling them like helpless newborn blind… er, cubs, we all got our fangs out, our tails lashing and our manes ruffled when anyone said anything that didn’t sound quite right to us. (Whew! Nailed that metaphor.)

Sometimes, the whole thing was just really exhausting.

We care so much about our work. We want so much for it to be …right (which explains my choice of a gift-from-above editor rather than a PR machine, in answer to Justine’s question). We want to pull the best out from ourselves, and sometimes it feels like that best is not possible, and we get… frantic. Hostile. Vicious and viciously depressed. And a smaller writing group plainly doesn’t mean that there is no aggravation. Just two is enough; you can even get in a snit alone, if you’re feeling like nothing is working, and that your agent is going to Barcelona without having read your latest mss. because you simply cannot seem to push through to finish it (thus you are posting to your blog instead of working), and you’re afraid that the people who read your work just give you lots of sunshine because they love you, and that nobody is telling the truth, and you really do just suck, and it should really be raining outside instead of looking all Spring-y because everything else is going down the toilet… (ahem.)

I don’t want to be with myself when I’m working (or not working) like that (thus I am with you, oh, you lucky few!). Imagine the potential horror of writing with your SISTER!

Randomly: I’m curious about how co-authors write together. Cynthia Leitich Smith has interviewed other co-authors and Cynthia herself and her honey, Greg also write together. How does that work? How do writer’s groups and collaborators defuse tension and move forward? What if you have a goddess like Our Jane in your writing group and you’ve not published as much (and honestly, who has?!) or at all? From what I can see, the honesty of being able to disagree and speak critique truthfully to this issue produces an honesty in writing that is unparalleled. And I need me a dose of that…

All right. Enough with the work avoidance.
Siiiiigh.