tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post5249635501477398893..comments2024-03-28T10:41:26.999-06:00Comments on Blood-Red Pencil: Is the State of the World Affecting Your Writing?Danihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-17704720661944653412019-07-29T15:17:08.549-06:002019-07-29T15:17:08.549-06:00Maryanne, even if my blog doesn't inspire you ...Maryanne, even if my blog doesn't inspire you to work on your writing, you know that you're not alone. I think if I stayed off social media I might get something done.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-20444001651431039032019-07-29T09:03:21.335-06:002019-07-29T09:03:21.335-06:00Ironically, or maybe serendipitously, I came over...Ironically, or maybe serendipitously, I came over to see what was posted last here on the BRP blog because I was stuck. I was facing a blank screen on my blog, wondering what to write and coming up with nothing. That is so not like me. I got my start in newspaper work and could always come up with a column idea when it was time to write a column. Blogging is the same. But like you, Polly, and so many who have left comments, the current state of current affairs has immobilized my brain and sapped my energies. I do hope you finish your book. It sounds like one I'd like to read, even if some of the people who NEED to read it might not.Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-49371707679525326162019-07-23T15:54:30.443-06:002019-07-23T15:54:30.443-06:00Thanks, Linda. I love the way you put that. "...Thanks, Linda. I love the way you put that. "Fact wearing a different outfit." Perfect.<br />Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-8282204526434262262019-07-23T15:49:46.747-06:002019-07-23T15:49:46.747-06:00This is a powerful post, Polly. You know, fiction ...This is a powerful post, Polly. You know, fiction is little more than fact wearing a different outfit. Readers will relate to your story and may even gain a different perspective. Keep up the good work! :-)Linda Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16056682992943171805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-3391686429660068012019-07-23T14:22:57.453-06:002019-07-23T14:22:57.453-06:00My book is political, so I'm half in fiction, ...My book is political, so I'm half in fiction, half in reality. I'm trying to present both sides of a situation that changes daily. Once I'm working in the book, I'm okay, but getting there is hard because of all the distractions. Hope you can get past this. Hope I can too.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-74188485849218457722019-07-23T14:10:13.819-06:002019-07-23T14:10:13.819-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-78897865409760222932019-07-23T13:53:50.756-06:002019-07-23T13:53:50.756-06:00It's the same with me, Polly. The humor flowed...It's the same with me, Polly. The humor flowed as easily as the suspense in my last book, yet my current work keeps veering darker, which is not my intent. Sometimes I think I'm suffering from the whack-a-mole event cycle we're all exposed to these days. It's a struggle every day to remember that my first goal as a writer is to entertain, not preach!Gay Yellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03563945979041377280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-81671640274146725792019-07-23T11:40:17.199-06:002019-07-23T11:40:17.199-06:00Ha, I've never thought about NOT offending any...Ha, I've never thought about NOT offending anyone. I do think writing keeps my brain more active than if I didn't write, but the distractions seem to be getting to my thinking processes. I think it's important to know what's going on. I wish I didn't. Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-32728973709192229732019-07-23T11:26:25.523-06:002019-07-23T11:26:25.523-06:00Like Diana, I've thought about hitting the kil...Like Diana, I've thought about hitting the kill switch on writing, but for me it's about the pressure to never offend anyone. I guess that's how the thought police shut writers down and send them cowering to their knitting needles? Nah! Don't do that. Patricia Stolteyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17192369425956406122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-25101157633492377202019-07-23T11:17:03.474-06:002019-07-23T11:17:03.474-06:00I do believe Amazon has left self-publishers behin...I do believe Amazon has left self-publishers behind in favor of the authors of their imprints. That is indeed depressing. Yes, we're kind of spinning our wheels. Long for the days when I actually sold a lot of books. I feel so much better now.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-25450091677920398382019-07-23T11:05:50.083-06:002019-07-23T11:05:50.083-06:00Between world news and all the self-publishing she...Between world news and all the self-publishing shenanigans with algorithms etc, I question daily whether this is something I wish to spend my time on. But then something I've written helps someone and I can't quite hit the kill switch.Diana Hurwitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18216220574149672733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-46310835486501069542019-07-23T10:24:21.112-06:002019-07-23T10:24:21.112-06:00CJ, I beginning to think there is no such thing as...CJ, I beginning to think there is no such thing as "science fiction" anymore. So much written in the past is coming to fruition. Not even sure if I would be surprised by an alien landing. Your subject matter is so important. Keep writing, keep telling the stories. They may not change any minds, but it might open up a few.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-78314667828368439182019-07-23T10:16:10.672-06:002019-07-23T10:16:10.672-06:00I agree with everything you said, Polly. I started...I agree with everything you said, Polly. I started writing fiction only a couple of years ago, inspired by this quote from Richard Powers (The Overstory). "The best arguments in the world won't change a person's mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story." In my Letty Valdez Mysteries, characters regularly break the law when they provide humanitarian aid to migrants, yet never turn the migrants in to the Border Patrol. My themes are racism, poverty, immigrant rights, and care for returning military veterans. Writing helps me to reduce news-caused stress. Even so, my deepest concern is the climate crisis and I haven't figured out how to write about that yet. Re: Children of Men. Human male sperm count has dropped 50% since the 1950s which is thought to be caused by pesticides containing estrogen-analogs. Scientific fact, not science fiction.shanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00346402822601641263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-91420464286159921162019-07-23T10:15:29.131-06:002019-07-23T10:15:29.131-06:00That's why, more than ever, we must make our v...That's why, more than ever, we must make our voices heard in whatever way possible. The silent majority will lose.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-50028141313961633852019-07-23T10:01:45.076-06:002019-07-23T10:01:45.076-06:00I'm exhausted by it all. I think that's th...I'm exhausted by it all. I think that's the intention. If we are that exhausted, then we'll stop paying attention, and "they" will be able to get away with their horrors. It's seeping into my writing, but the malaise is also keeping me from writing, mostly because I feel so helpless in the face of it all. Laurelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15996108806298919271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-64683582776665989602019-07-23T09:00:55.004-06:002019-07-23T09:00:55.004-06:00Good for you. My WIP IS the world we live in, and ...Good for you. My WIP IS the world we live in, and there's no escaping. Maybe I should write something totally different next, if I have any passion left.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-58319651736875409692019-07-23T08:59:12.915-06:002019-07-23T08:59:12.915-06:00Your last sentence is food for thought. Politics, ...Your last sentence is food for thought. Politics, in one way or another, seeps into every story, whether a police procedural or a cozy mystery. What happens in the world happens in the lives of our characters, and it comes from the writer.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-28891667013183539502019-07-23T08:57:46.350-06:002019-07-23T08:57:46.350-06:00For the politicians who can read, I would highly r...For the politicians who can read, I would highly recommend that they DO read dystopian novels! It would do them good. I'm still able to retreat into the world I'm writing at the time and escape, and hope that my readers will be able to use my books for that, too.Kaye Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05596677617002735674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-22105616516088095622019-07-23T08:57:34.082-06:002019-07-23T08:57:34.082-06:00Thanks, Dani. I don't think we're alone.Thanks, Dani. I don't think we're alone.Polly Iyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05729656119287702191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-36433288098899265192019-07-23T08:47:01.645-06:002019-07-23T08:47:01.645-06:00While my lawman series happens in the Mid 90s, wha...While my lawman series happens in the Mid 90s, what happens today, still provides fuel. There were crooked politicians back then, there were secrets barely kept under the radar, and what we see happening in the world today has been there before (we just hear about it better today). but I do borrow from today. In the family secrets series, Will talks about rescuing a Mexican woman who was abducted and now a victim of human trafficking. He reflects on the President wanting to build a wall between the two countries, and wonders if it was supposed to protect us from them, or them from us.William Ablanhttps://williamablan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5704943052235281766.post-67540435326187355462019-07-23T08:44:20.438-06:002019-07-23T08:44:20.438-06:00I am so totally on the same page with you, Polly! ...I am so totally on the same page with you, Polly! Good post!Danihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14471919576687777886noreply@blogger.com