tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215239422011-04-21T18:49:35.568-06:00Confessions of an expatriate magnolia in the desertS. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.comBlogger141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1144527002111680692006-04-08T13:41:00.000-06:002006-04-08T14:10:02.133-06:00

"Writing is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him to the public." Winston ChurchillNot as productive as I'd like to be....under the influence of Sinus/Allergy Tylenol and

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1144073976071540152006-04-03T08:06:00.000-06:002006-04-03T08:19:36.090-06:00

Just back from a road trip that took us across a swath of the vast uniterrupted Painted Desert. First, the excitement is the next snack stop--my crew are hard core Snack-A-Holics who believe every town is an opportunity for a new junk food discovery. They eat like Amazons and remain pencil thin. I eyed the Onion Rings but contented myself with a latte with skim milk and no-fat whipped cream.

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1143512353565105322006-03-27T19:06:00.000-07:002006-03-27T19:19:13.580-07:00

Seven thousand words into a new novel. Came up with a working title I can live with. I'll do anything to avoid working on taxes. Suddenly, no writer's block now that I need to do taxes. Moving is a killer---two states worth of forms. I want to jump into an advertisement I saw today--a white deserted beach. There's nothing like a deadline. Back to my Receipt Safari.

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1143067227773696712006-03-22T15:38:00.000-07:002006-03-22T15:40:27.773-07:00

Live from the parking lot of JA’s bar. Reporting in Melissa Rivers style but red carpet nowhere in sight at this joint. “A stream of swillers all waving their SASE’s for admittance has converged tonight here at JA’s. Personally, I’m not setting foot inside until MG lets me know if they serve a mean margarita and allow Ferragamos on the sawdust. “Dana! Over here. What’s the buzz? Something big

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1141405945363483542006-03-03T09:56:00.000-07:002006-03-03T10:12:25.380-07:00

Lately I've been thinking about why I continue to write. E.A. Bardwill's post opened a Pandora's Box for me. Why keep writing? The answers I've come up with (so far):1. Why not? It's a way to exercise my free will and choose to do what I want to do.2. Because I like to write.3. I love language, words, telling a story.Interesting that none of these first three reasons have to do with money.

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1140454114488448132006-02-20T09:18:00.000-07:002006-02-20T10:56:01.800-07:00

I have an incredible photo of a whale winking right at the camera sitting on my desk. My daughter took it when she was 8 year old. We had sailed from San Juan island on a small eco friendly boat to try and spot a few whales. The captain, our guide--a naturalist, two families with young kids, and an older lady and her daughter. The large double decker tourist boats broke the rules all morning

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1140106016343169642006-02-16T08:58:00.000-07:002006-02-16T09:06:56.366-07:00

Reading Ross King's novel, Domino because I enjoyed his historical suspense novel, Ex Libris. The language in Ex-Libris was flowery but interesting. The language in Domino (takes place in 1770's) is downright weighty. Although I'm enjoying the story, the language can be a slog at times. I noticed last night this was his first novel and it sent me off on a mental tangent, thinking about first

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1139932522119215832006-02-14T08:43:00.000-07:002006-02-14T08:55:22.130-07:00

A lot of questions today--sort of like weeds! They're not important, but, they are there.Why are query letters so hard to get right?Why do I write?How can I catch the evil typo worm that lives in my P.C.?Why did our VIce President shoot someone?That's it. Back to Chapter 3 of A Prolonged Coincidence.

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1139853094023660122006-02-13T10:40:00.001-07:002006-02-13T10:51:34.036-07:00

Came across this quote by Samuel Beckett this morning:"Try again. Fail again. Fail better."I continue on my second draft of the novel I'm working on now secure in the knowledge that there will always be revision. Re-drafting, polishing, replotting, reworking (Dana, see what you started.) Is a novel ever really finished?

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1139538716291550302006-02-09T19:05:00.000-07:002006-02-09T19:31:56.303-07:00

A blog with titles for authors seeking titles. Someone else thought this up but I like the idea. It could be The TitleList. Corny I guess. That's why I need a blog with title ideas.Quote by Ursula LeGuin: It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end. I'd like to think that's true. Some days (like today!) writing seems like such a solitary trip

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1139269623718241922006-02-06T16:33:00.001-07:002006-02-06T16:47:03.736-07:00

The deals are out there and apparently, the more bizarre your story, the better. My next story is going to involve shape shifting cockroaches on the path to Armegeddon. Forget the plot construction, the layers, the play on words, the careful arrangement of phrases in the novel I'm working on. As the cockroaches grow in numbers, they can not be stopped. Their path of destruction threatens the

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1138982452949579712006-02-03T08:48:00.000-07:002006-02-03T09:00:52.956-07:00

Discovered a new word last night: japanned - a noun - articles made in a Japanese style, esp. when decorated with lacquer or enamellike varnish. Used in a novel I'm reading an piqued my interest.Guess that's what it's all about with writers...keeping an eye for the strangeness of ordinary life, the odd expression. Ordinary words gaining momentum as the writer puts them in motion. Strange new

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1138550949904284572006-01-29T08:57:00.000-07:002006-01-29T09:09:09.913-07:00

Reeading two novels right now in my not so spare time: Our Man in Havanna by Graham Greene and Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Both are good stories, well written. But writing a novel sometimes ruins the reading of a good story. I start analyzing what I like and why, underline passages that are well written, and go back to them to determine what it is I like so much about that

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21523942.post-1138288365254329232006-01-26T08:08:00.000-07:002006-01-26T12:21:56.866-07:00

I sleep and dream. I wake. I write. I remember and forget. I have fun and get depressed. And now..I blog. I would say some things different today than I will say them tomorrow. But still the things themselves represent who I am: a writer who frets about style and content of my novels. Now I'm fretting over what to write on a blog. Made the first entry. Broke the ice. We'll see where it

S. R. Hatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02280770463896392692noreply@blogger.com16