Comments for A. Victoria Mixon, Editor http://victoriamixon.com Tue, 15 May 2012 19:24:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 Comment on 5 Reasons My Cat Should Be the Writer Instead of Me by Victoria http://victoriamixon.com/2012/05/07/5-reasons-my-cat-should-be-the-writer-instead-of-me/comment-page-1/#comment-161847 Victoria Tue, 15 May 2012 19:24:37 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11623#comment-161847 :) I shudder at the mere thought. He's already opinionated enough. :)

I shudder at the mere thought. He’s already opinionated enough.

]]> Comment on Body of Kindness, by Stu Wakefield by Victoria http://victoriamixon.com/2012/05/14/body-of-kindness-by-stu-wakefield/comment-page-1/#comment-161825 Victoria Tue, 15 May 2012 16:04:55 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11655#comment-161825 Oh, that would be the tiny invisible time-release bombs I planted. Me laughing uncontrollably at you being Beyonce. Just a little essence of V to get you through your working day. :) You know, my friend in LA said she had to look Beyonce up before she watched that, and I said, "I still haven't. I will go to my grave believing Beyonce is Stu in a wig." I'll be lying there in my coffin, still chuckling, and they'll all go, "Wow. This is just <i>too</i> weird. Suddenly we <em>get</em> her connection to ghost stories." Oh, that would be the tiny invisible time-release bombs I planted. Me laughing uncontrollably at you being Beyonce. Just a little essence of V to get you through your working day. :)

You know, my friend in LA said she had to look Beyonce up before she watched that, and I said, “I still haven’t. I will go to my grave believing Beyonce is Stu in a wig.”

I’ll be lying there in my coffin, still chuckling, and they’ll all go, “Wow. This is just too weird. Suddenly we get her connection to ghost stories.”

]]> Comment on Body of Kindness, by Stu Wakefield by Stuart Wakefield http://victoriamixon.com/2012/05/14/body-of-kindness-by-stu-wakefield/comment-page-1/#comment-161816 Stuart Wakefield Tue, 15 May 2012 13:27:01 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11655#comment-161816 You're more than welcome! I miss working with you but, every time I refer back to my outline during my rewrites, it's like you're still there, egging me on. :) You’re more than welcome!

I miss working with you but, every time I refer back to my outline during my rewrites, it’s like you’re still there, egging me on.

:)

]]> Comment on 5 Reasons My Cat Should Be the Writer Instead of Me by Lena http://victoriamixon.com/2012/05/07/5-reasons-my-cat-should-be-the-writer-instead-of-me/comment-page-1/#comment-161605 Lena Sat, 12 May 2012 16:40:55 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11623#comment-161605 LOL, love the title, so did you give him the pen? ;-) LOL, love the title, so did you give him the pen? ;-)

]]> Comment on 5 Reasons My Cat Should Be the Writer Instead of Me by Tameka (BloggerPoet) (@Tamstarz) http://victoriamixon.com/2012/05/07/5-reasons-my-cat-should-be-the-writer-instead-of-me/comment-page-1/#comment-161601 Tameka (BloggerPoet) (@Tamstarz) Sat, 12 May 2012 15:51:30 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11623#comment-161601 Yes! As a cat lover and a writer, I thoroughly enjoyed this. We can definitely learn a lot from them! http://lyricfire.typepad.com/lyric-fire/2012/05/shades-of-green-and-gray-embracing-challenges-to-become-a-better-artist.html Yes! As a cat lover and a writer, I thoroughly enjoyed this. We can definitely learn a lot from them!

http://lyricfire.typepad.com/lyric-fire/2012/05/shades-of-green-and-gray-embracing-challenges-to-become-a-better-artist.html

]]> Comment on 7 Reasons to Be Grateful You’re a Writer by Top Picks Thursday 5-10-2012 « The Author Chronicles http://victoriamixon.com/2012/04/23/7-reasons-to-be-grateful-youre-a-writer/comment-page-1/#comment-161439 Top Picks Thursday 5-10-2012 « The Author Chronicles Thu, 10 May 2012 17:02:27 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=5419#comment-161439 [...] her vision of the future of publishing—teamwork, humility, and innovation. Victoria Mixon lists 7 reasons to be grateful you’re a writer, and Kirkus McGowan advises to not give in to fear, and write what you want to [...] [...] her vision of the future of publishing—teamwork, humility, and innovation. Victoria Mixon lists 7 reasons to be grateful you’re a writer, and Kirkus McGowan advises to not give in to fear, and write what you want to [...]

]]> Comment on 5 Reasons My Cat Should Be the Writer Instead of Me by Elizabeth Fais http://victoriamixon.com/2012/05/07/5-reasons-my-cat-should-be-the-writer-instead-of-me/comment-page-1/#comment-161304 Elizabeth Fais Wed, 09 May 2012 03:48:21 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11623#comment-161304 I am NOT letting my cats read this! Too funny, because it's so true! I am NOT letting my cats read this! Too funny, because it’s so true!

]]> Comment on 5 Reasons My Cat Should Be the Writer Instead of Me by Louise Sorensen http://victoriamixon.com/2012/05/07/5-reasons-my-cat-should-be-the-writer-instead-of-me/comment-page-1/#comment-161249 Louise Sorensen Tue, 08 May 2012 14:45:20 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11623#comment-161249 Wonderful. Cats, and writers, in a nut shell. Maybe in previous lives, we were cats. Wonderful. Cats, and writers, in a nut shell.
Maybe in previous lives, we were cats.

]]> Comment on 5 Reasons My Cat Should Be the Writer Instead of Me by Vikki http://victoriamixon.com/2012/05/07/5-reasons-my-cat-should-be-the-writer-instead-of-me/comment-page-1/#comment-161239 Vikki Tue, 08 May 2012 14:14:57 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11623#comment-161239 Ha ha ha, that's brilliant. I will never look at my cat in the same light :) Xx Ha ha ha, that’s brilliant.

I will never look at my cat in the same light :)

Xx

]]> Comment on 3 Things to Know About Exposition & Telling by Victoria http://victoriamixon.com/2012/04/02/3-things-to-know-about-exposition-telling/comment-page-1/#comment-161170 Victoria Mon, 07 May 2012 21:35:58 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=11501#comment-161170 That's a really good question, Jacob. You're layering excerpts from fictional history book? That's a fascinating technique but might be a hard sell with some of today's agents. Tolkien, as usual, is probably our best model for how to handle this. He used landmarks, historical characters, dialog (but only pertaining to the dilemma at hand), and most especially his characters' adventures to illuminate the <i>vast</i> history of Middle Earth, of which <i>The Hobbit</i> and The Lord of the Rings are, of course, only the tip of the iceberg. Who warns Frodo against the Black Riders? Aragorn. Why? <i>Because he's the lost King on the secret forefront of the struggle between good & evil in Middle Earth.</i> Where is Frodo's gang headed? To Rivendell. Why? <i>Because that's where Elrond, the King of the Elves, has established his base in the fight against Sauron</i>. Where is Gandalf lost? In Moria. Why? <i>Because the dwarves dug too deep into the mountain and disturbed an ancient evil.</i> You see that every single event that occurs to the characters occurs <i>within the context of history</i>. It does help to have a historian---as Tolkien commonly used Gandalf, although he also used the Council at Rivendell and the negotiations with Galadriel---so your characters have someone to bounce things off as they writhe in the coils of their catastrophes. <i>None of this is coincidence.</i> All of it is moving the story forward toward Mordor and Frodo's final terrible choice. (Okay, Bombadill is a non sequitur.) And don't be afraid to drop mysterious hints and references to history into the story as it progresses. All of that is a snowball building toward the avalanche that is your Climax. That’s a really good question, Jacob. You’re layering excerpts from fictional history book? That’s a fascinating technique but might be a hard sell with some of today’s agents.

Tolkien, as usual, is probably our best model for how to handle this. He used landmarks, historical characters, dialog (but only pertaining to the dilemma at hand), and most especially his characters’ adventures to illuminate the vast history of Middle Earth, of which The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are, of course, only the tip of the iceberg.

Who warns Frodo against the Black Riders? Aragorn. Why? Because he’s the lost King on the secret forefront of the struggle between good & evil in Middle Earth.

Where is Frodo’s gang headed? To Rivendell. Why? Because that’s where Elrond, the King of the Elves, has established his base in the fight against Sauron.

Where is Gandalf lost? In Moria. Why? Because the dwarves dug too deep into the mountain and disturbed an ancient evil.

You see that every single event that occurs to the characters occurs within the context of history.

It does help to have a historian—as Tolkien commonly used Gandalf, although he also used the Council at Rivendell and the negotiations with Galadriel—so your characters have someone to bounce things off as they writhe in the coils of their catastrophes.

None of this is coincidence. All of it is moving the story forward toward Mordor and Frodo’s final terrible choice. (Okay, Bombadill is a non sequitur.)

And don’t be afraid to drop mysterious hints and references to history into the story as it progresses. All of that is a snowball building toward the avalanche that is your Climax.

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