Saturday, March 26, 2011

Win A Copy of Le Regazze Morte Sono Facili


Want to win a copy of the Italian version of Dead Girls Are Easy?  Stop by Gloria's Literary Cafe to read a review of the book and an interview with me, then leave a comment for Gloria.

What? You can't read Italian? I'll paraphrase: "This book is the best book ever written, and Terri Garey is AWESOME!" (Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little.) ;-)

If you really want to read the review and interview, it can be translated from Italian to English through Translate Google or Bing by just copying the link for Gloria's Literary Cafe (above) and pasting it into the translator.

Good luck, or as they say in Italian, "buona fortuna!"

Monday, March 14, 2011

Let It Go

Most writers are familiar with the phrase, "Kill your darlings". The actual quote, however, is this:
“Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it — whole-heartedly — and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings." - Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, 1916
I just took Sir Arthur's advice and killed one of my "darlings", an entire scene that I'd worked on for days. I LOVED this scene - it had some affectionate reminiscing on my main character's part, introduced a new character and added some local flavor, and the dialogue was fantastic, if I do say so myself. :-) But last night, I decided to do a total read-thru of the novel so far, and you know what? The scene didn't work. It was a beautiful in a stand-alone kind of way, but it did absolutely nothing to move the story forward. The new character was unnecessary, and so was the reminiscing. In fact, the scene slowed the pacing of the overall novel, which led me to take a deep breath, put my finger on the Delete key, and KILL IT.

The inability to kill your darlings has killed many a writer's career, in my humble opinion. We get so attached to the words we put on paper that we'll do anything to keep them; a tweak here, a move there, use this bit of dialogue somewhere else... when really, a clean break would be best for all concerned. We justify keeping it, thinking of all the time and effort that went into creating it in the first place, and not wanting to waste our prose or our time. But a good book is worth the time, and perfect prose may not always be perfect in the bigger sense - the BOOK is what's important, not the scene.

It's a tough lesson to learn, but liberating in its own way.  As a writer, I believe that nothing I've ever written has been wasted, even if no one ever reads it, because -- just like in life -- learning to let go is a lesson in itself.

Take a minute and think of something that you need to let go of, whether it's bad feelings toward a certain someone, or that pair of jeans you haven't fit into for at least five years.  :)  Go ahead and remember all the reasons why you're hanging onto to it (or them), then take a deep breath and LET IT GO.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Janet Rose Garey ~ April 10, 1916 - March 6, 2011

I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word
that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.

All is well.