Latest / Reality Writes / Author Tips–Writing During the Holidays

Transcript

Author Tips–Writing During the Holidays · Reality Writes

0:05
SPEAKER_02: Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to Reality Rights.
0:08
SPEAKER_02: I am author Ellie Alexander, and this is the podcast where we break down all things reading, writing, and bookish.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: And I'm here with I'm the tech guy.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: I am why my room is always so much darker than your room.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: You get this like awesome natural light, and my window's over there, and I just I don't get the good light.
0:32
SPEAKER_02: You don't get the good light.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: Well, what can I say?
0:34
SPEAKER_02: I picked a better office.
0:38
SPEAKER_00: Story of my life.
0:40
SPEAKER_02: But I don't have a second office to go to.
0:41
SPEAKER_02: You do.
0:42
SPEAKER_00: That's true.
0:43
SPEAKER_00: That's true.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: That's true.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: What are we talking about this week?
0:47
SPEAKER_02: Well, we're gonna do a special holiday episode.
0:50
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, I love the holidays.
0:51
SPEAKER_02: It's the holiday season.
0:53
SPEAKER_02: Uh we do.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: I do.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: I have my uh I have my eating junk and watching rubbish shirt on.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: So I'm always in the holiday season this time of the year.
1:03
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, we just got back from a holiday market in downtown Sunnyvale.
1:08
SPEAKER_02: And um, for all the darlings who are just listening and not watching, I'm wearing like a cozy winter sweater that's not even that thick.
1:15
SPEAKER_02: And the tech guy was wearing a hoodie over his t-shirt, and we were sweating profusely at this Christmas market.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's uh um as of the recording of this, it's what December 8th.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: And uh it uh it was the thermometer in the car said 81.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: December.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: 81 degrees.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: Merry Christmas.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:41
SPEAKER_02: Except uh before we get into uh writing during the holidays, I do have to share my favorite part of living in California during the holiday season is this.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: It is fresh oranges and lemons right off the trees.
1:54
SPEAKER_02: Darlings, if you're listening, I'm holding up an orange that is like still still on the vine, on the stem.
2:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's uh we have a lemon tree and an orange tree ourselves, although ours are in pots because um we you know we just moved a few years ago and um and but like we everywhere when we go on walks throughout the neighborhood, it's just you know, these 20, like 15 to 20 foot tall trees, and they just have hundreds of ripe lemons and oranges on them right now and pomellos and all sorts of citrus fruit.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: It's just great.
2:31
SPEAKER_02: And um, I'm not to pig at all, but there is a house in the neighborhood that remember when you went running a little while ago and like a bag.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: I got I got I came back with like 30 pounds of lemons.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: And Ellie was like, What are we gonna do with 30 pounds of lemons?
2:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, well, we better start coming up with some recipes now.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of gin and tonics.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
2:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, they just they the their tree.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: Well, right now it probably has 400 lemons on it, and so we're just waiting.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'm gonna change my running route to go past that house every uh every week now until they're ripe and they pick them because they put them out there in these big bags and they're just free free for people to take.
3:13
SPEAKER_02: So cool.
3:14
SPEAKER_02: Just lemons on the street, no big deal.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: Sharing fruit with your neighbors.
3:18
SPEAKER_02: It's the holiday way.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
3:21
SPEAKER_02: Uh well, that's a good segue because today we're gonna talk about writing during this particular time of year.
3:27
SPEAKER_02: And this is a question um and a challenge that has come up so often on my coaching calls the last couple weeks.
3:36
SPEAKER_02: Writers have felt pressured to write during the holiday season and also inspired to write during the holiday season.
3:43
SPEAKER_02: And so I thought we would just really dive into writing during the season and um the pros, the cons, all the good stuff.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand what the problem is.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: It's not like there's anything else going on right now.
3:56
SPEAKER_00: So, like what's it what's what's different about this than any other week or month?
4:02
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
4:03
SPEAKER_02: Just write already.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, just do it.
4:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
4:07
SPEAKER_02: Well, okay, so I think I think it's really important in any creative endeavor, not just writing, that you really follow that energy.
4:18
SPEAKER_02: So I was coaching a student last week who was just not feeling it.
4:21
SPEAKER_02: They had so many other things going on and kind of this whole family situation that was blowing up, and they are trying to get a book done by the end of the year, which is a like self-pro prescribed deadline, right?
4:34
SPEAKER_02: It's not this is their first book.
4:35
SPEAKER_02: So there's no reason that it has to be done by January 1st.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: Although this is not like a publisher deadline.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: This is they okay, okay exactly.
4:43
SPEAKER_02: This is just they they set that as a goal and an intention, which well, that's what I was gonna say.
4:48
SPEAKER_02: As you know, I love a deadline.
4:50
SPEAKER_02: I think it helps keep us on track and everything.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: And side note, she gives me deadlines all the time.
4:56
SPEAKER_02: I do.
4:57
SPEAKER_02: I do.
4:57
SPEAKER_02: I need to give you more.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: Oh, great, great.
5:01
SPEAKER_02: I've got a few in mind.
5:03
SPEAKER_02: Uh no, so um I often in both in my Mr.
5:08
SPEAKER_02: Series masterclass and when I'm doing private coaching, we often one of the first things that I will do with a new writer is sit down and kind of map out, like, okay, you know, how much capacity do you have for word count, how much time do you have in your week, and then and back that up and give writers something to work towards.
5:23
SPEAKER_02: With the caveat that life happens sometimes.
5:26
SPEAKER_02: And to try to push through or force a story when you don't have the emotional capacity, the mental capacity, the headspace for it, it's probably just gonna mean you're gonna have a ton more work to do later on in the editing process.
5:43
SPEAKER_02: So, like in this particular situation, I was like, just give yourself permission to push that deadline back by a couple weeks, you know?
5:51
SPEAKER_00: Right.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:52
SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, especially if it's a self-imposed deadline, that's, you know, I I I guess should people plan ahead or is this something you can change on the fly?
6:03
SPEAKER_02: I think in in situations like this when you have, you know, a lot of stress that you're not anticipating and it comes up, then you should change it on the fly.
6:11
SPEAKER_02: If you're thinking ahead, then it's a great idea to plan for this season.
6:17
SPEAKER_02: Like for a couple of years, I took December off from writing because bake shops were being bake shop mysteries were being released at the end of December.
6:25
SPEAKER_02: So December was just a whirlwind.
6:27
SPEAKER_02: It's already a whirlwind in our own personal lives because everything happens in December.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Literally everything.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: I mean, all the important dates are in well, I mean, one birthday, one of three birthdays, and then Christmas and New Year's, our anniversary, everything.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:47
SPEAKER_02: It's a lot.
6:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
6:49
SPEAKER_02: So for many years, I took the month of December off in anticipation of that because I wanted to be able to enjoy the holiday season.
6:57
SPEAKER_02: And I also knew that I was working toward a book launch the week after Christmas.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: Um two days after Christmas.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: Not the week after, like literally two days.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: Like that was rough.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: The first, I don't know, what was it, like 10 for 10 or 15 bake shops?
7:14
SPEAKER_02: Almost 10 years.
7:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
7:15
SPEAKER_02: It's only been the last two.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: Just last year was the first time that I didn't have a post-Christmas 18 or 19 bake shops that came out on December 27th.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: That was always the date, December 27th, you know, when everybody wants to buy something because you haven't bought anything any time in the past few weeks, you know.
7:36
SPEAKER_02: And no one wants to like leave your house or do anything.
7:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I know.
7:39
SPEAKER_02: Um, but now I have been writing this month because I'm working on a new story and um, you know, it's just my regular writing routine.
7:48
SPEAKER_02: So I think, yes, having a plan ahead of time and then being flexible with that plan if you need to pivot and make a new change.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: Now, the other thing that I think is so important, and this is for anyone who is potentially considering writing a holiday book at any point in your career, right?
8:09
SPEAKER_02: If you're working, I have writers who are working on their first books right now.
8:12
SPEAKER_02: I have writers working on their second, third, and fourth in a series.
8:15
SPEAKER_02: A lot of times, especially in the cozy genre, a holiday book is just like a really fun and easy way to add something else in.
8:24
SPEAKER_02: I mean, who doesn't?
8:25
SPEAKER_00: They tend to be they tend to be kind of popular too.
8:28
SPEAKER_02: Just a little bit?
8:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:30
SPEAKER_02: How many did you get me over the years?
8:33
SPEAKER_00: I mean, so many.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: I can't even count.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: Uh I needed I needed our son's help to remember the covers to make sure, like, has she read this one?
8:42
SPEAKER_00: Has she read that one?
8:44
SPEAKER_00: He did a good job.
8:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
8:46
SPEAKER_02: You would always come back with a stack.
8:48
SPEAKER_02: So um, I learned this lesson the hard way.
8:51
SPEAKER_02: We have talked a lot about how once you're long into a series, whether that's going the traditional path or publishing independently, um, your schedule does not always line up with the season.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: Right.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: Right.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: You've uh you've had that happen both ways, where you're writing like holiday or uh books like um uh on thin icing comes to mind.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Like you're writing that in you know the middle of summer and it's it's 90 degrees out, and you're writing snowy scenes up at uh Lake of the Woods, or um what was it?
9:32
SPEAKER_00: Uh Crime of Passion Fruit.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, writing writing about a cruise, a mystery on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean in the middle of winter.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: When you you were writing in the middle of winter about a cruise ship, yeah.
9:46
SPEAKER_02: Yes, not only was I writing in the middle of winter, but that was like the most snow we had had in the Portland area in like 10 years, and then there was like two inches of ice on top of that.
9:56
SPEAKER_02: So no one was weeping.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: It was well, and yeah, and for you, especially because you're the bake shop series in particular, because there are recipes tied to all that and a lot of even more food language in the books than the you know, because it's a bake shop.
10:14
SPEAKER_00: Like it was so weird to be in the middle of winter and having these like you know, um uh tropical recipes.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: And like, what what are we doing?
10:23
SPEAKER_00: How do we find a pineapple in the middle of December?
10:26
SPEAKER_00: Like uh just yeah.
10:28
SPEAKER_02: Are you in the mood for a cold pasta salad when we're all shivering its side in front of the fireplace?
10:33
SPEAKER_02: Yes, definitely.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: Here's a cold drink with an umbrella.
10:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
10:37
SPEAKER_02: You want a Mai Thai?
10:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, let's go.
10:40
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but I wish someone had given me this advice early on.
10:44
SPEAKER_02: So listen up if you're thinking about at some point in time ever, if you've even just imagined that you might want to write a Christmas mystery, a holiday mystery, a Hanukkah mystery, a Kwanzaa, anything.
10:56
SPEAKER_02: Um, take copious notes right now.
11:00
SPEAKER_02: Even if you have no idea when you're gonna write this book, take seasonal notes.
11:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, because that will serve you so well later on.
11:11
SPEAKER_02: Instead of, you know, while I was writing um a cup of holiday fear and it was 90 degrees and I had to like go look at a bunch of old pictures.
11:20
SPEAKER_02: Like, I wish I had had a file that was just all of my like winter holiday notes.
11:25
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's just a great tip.
11:27
SPEAKER_02: Seasonality, because you know, I think there's this myth that you shouldn't work weather into your writing, but I disagree with that wholeheartedly.
11:35
SPEAKER_02: You absolutely should because that's so much of the sensory world building piece.
11:40
SPEAKER_02: So during this holiday season, if you're taking a break from your other stuff, make a commitment to start a holiday file and take notes, take pictures, take videos, and then just save it away for a hot summer day.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: That's a good idea.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I hadn't even thought about that.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: But of course, now that you're in the middle of the season and experiencing all these things, like this is the perfect time to capture all that stuff and then have it available when it is 90 degrees out and you're trying to imagine what does it feel like in a snowstorm or you know, what what what what foods am I eating right now?
12:17
SPEAKER_00: You know, what recipes are uh hitting uh, you know, this week or whatever.
12:22
SPEAKER_02: So have I ever been cold?
12:24
SPEAKER_02: What does it feel like to be cold?
12:26
SPEAKER_02: You know?
12:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
12:27
SPEAKER_02: Um, and then there's just so much other interesting sensory stuff that's happening this time of year.
12:32
SPEAKER_02: So to be able to capture that and experience it, um, for me, you know, there's something so important about actually like stepping into a place.
12:41
SPEAKER_02: Like we just went to Phyloli a couple weeks ago for the holiday season.
12:45
SPEAKER_02: That's the setting for the secret bookcase mysteries.
12:48
SPEAKER_02: And so to be there while it was all decked out for the holiday season is a totally different experience than seeing it in the spring when everything's blooming and pink.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: Right.
12:56
SPEAKER_00: It's beautiful at both times, but yeah, right now with all those lights and the to like what to 26 trees inside the house, something like that.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: It just it's amazing, including one tree made entirely of books.
13:08
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
13:10
SPEAKER_02: I know that that should go on your to-do list.
13:12
SPEAKER_02: Why don't I have a book tree?
13:14
SPEAKER_00: A book tree.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: I think you would, I don't know where we would keep all the books it would take to make a book tree, but yeah.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: And I can't even imagine our cat would take that out in three seconds flat.
13:29
SPEAKER_00: She would climb it for sure.
13:31
SPEAKER_02: This is a total aside, but um, we have a game that we play when we get home from anything to see uh how many ornaments we think the cat will have knocked off the tree.
13:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: She has a favorite.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: Frosty is her favorite now.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: She's and it's our fault for buying all these like cat toy-looking Christmas ornaments.
13:50
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're all like felted, you know, beautiful, like handmade ornaments, and they some of them just get shredded.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: So poor cat.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: Poor cat, yeah.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: What are you gonna do?
14:05
SPEAKER_02: Bottom of the tree is like I know, yeah.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: Our tree looks a little weird because it's like there are no ornaments on the bottom two feet of it, but you know, I guess people look at that and go, Oh, you must own a cat.
14:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:17
SPEAKER_02: Right.
14:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's fair.
14:19
SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, so just put that in the back of your head and really um embrace that idea of this can be a time if you're not feeling that creative pull to want to write, to use this as inspiration.
14:34
SPEAKER_02: And um, the second thing about that is leaning into the experience of where you're having the holiday season.
14:41
SPEAKER_02: So, like, you know, my beautiful California fresh off the tree oranges are a totally different experience than what we had when we were living in Oregon, where it's well, I would love to say that it was always snowy, but usually it was raining.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: I well, yeah, when we lived up in Portland, Vancouver, sure, but uh Ashland, it was we got a lot of snow in Ashland.
15:06
SPEAKER_02: I mean on Christmas.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: Oh, on Christmas, yeah.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's true.
15:11
SPEAKER_00: Because winter, winter in the northwest doesn't really hit until January, late January, early February.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: That's when like the the snowy, freezing, you know, stuff happens.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, otherwise it is just rain.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: Cold, very, very cold rain, but but rain.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:30
SPEAKER_02: Cold, gray, blowing, wet.
15:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: In fact, yeah, my birthday's in December, our son's is in February, and he got snow on his birthday more than I did.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Uh in the in the northwest every year.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: Uh well, the years it did snow.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:48
SPEAKER_02: Or ironically, he would either get snow or it would be this first like fake false spring where it would be like 65 or something.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: Right.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: One or the other.
15:57
SPEAKER_02: Um, but I have coaching clients all over the US and um in other places in the world, which is so fun.
16:03
SPEAKER_02: I have two writers who I work with in Australia.
16:06
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I'm like, well, for you, you can have a murderer on the Barbie, you know, like you're you're barbecuing on the beach during the holiday season, which is so different than somebody in like Duluth, Minnesota that's on like the lake with the snow blowing off of it.
16:20
SPEAKER_02: Um, so to really capture your worldview and your lens, which comes back to creating an authentic experience for readers and something that hopefully then readers are gonna get to either travel a little bit, you know, they're gonna step inside that story and feel like, I've never experienced Christmas in Australia.
16:38
SPEAKER_02: This is amazing and so different.
16:40
SPEAKER_02: Or, or um, they're gonna recognize it, you know, if you're picking up a book in Sydney during the holiday season and you're like, wait, this is exactly what my holiday is like.
16:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, so anything that you can do to layer in that sense of building a real world around something fictional like murder.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.
17:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that that is funny that thinking about in the southern hemisphere, just it being summer right now.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, and it seems so bizarre to us, but it if that's what you've grown up knowing, it's totally normal.
17:14
SPEAKER_00: So it is funny to hear you talk about, yeah, yeah, you know, they're writing a Christmas mystery and it's like everybody's in shorts and t-shirts.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: And it's like, okay.
17:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and then you can take that one step further, especially because you know, here we talk a lot about mystery writing.
17:30
SPEAKER_02: Um, you can think about how you might be able to use the festive holiday season as a unique way to bump somebody off.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: Different different methods uh in the summer months than the winter months, right?
17:48
SPEAKER_02: Or, you know, is it like a festive ribbon that you're using instead of uh uh rope or you know, like any of those other little just nuggets that you can weave into a story?
18:00
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
18:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right.
18:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
18:05
SPEAKER_02: Um, and then the other thing is there is something to the sense of going back to if you're not feeling the vibe of writing during the holiday season, December's the darkest month of the of the year.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: You know, we we lean into solstice, like this can also be a time to kind of hibernate in, let your stories percolate in the background, not have so much of a focus on production and like getting through word count or a first draft, and reading a lot, because the best thing that you can do to improve your writing ultimately is read and read widely.
18:42
SPEAKER_02: That is by far the number one piece of advice that I always share with anyone who wants to write.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: Well, okay, so then let's talk about that for a minute.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: That so the holidays are always busy.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, hey, whatever you celebrate, um, you know, whether that is Christmas, it's Hanukkah, it's you know, anything.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: And you've got stuff going on, you've got activities, you've got family coming into town, you're going out of town to see family, whatever it is.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, should beginning writers, writers who are just getting started, should they think about maybe concentrating on other tasks during the holidays rather than trying to tough it out and get some concentrated writing time?
19:33
SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, we've talked a lot on this podcast about all the other things that go into writing and and be becoming an author or being an author, like marketing is a big one, you know.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: And just we, you know, in the previous topic, we talked a little bit about taking notes and everything.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: But I mean, do you do you recommend people try to write or that they just give themselves a pass and they concentrate on other activities instead?
19:59
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a good question.
20:00
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think especially for for beginning writers, it really does depend on where your energy is.
20:04
SPEAKER_02: If you are in the flow of a story, uh like don't stop for sure.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: But if it if you are in that space where it's like, oh, this just feels like a slog, and I'm not talking about writer's block because we've had a whole podcast on how I don't believe in writer's block.
20:17
SPEAKER_02: That's different.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: No, there no, this is definitely, and that's not my question because this is more about yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: But I I do think, like now thinking about it, um maybe I should start writing because that would be a good excuse to be like, oh no, sorry, can't come to visit.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm in the middle of writing.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: I'm in the middle of the book.
20:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I love it.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna start using that.
20:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, to go to that party thing.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, or go visit, go visit, uh, yeah, yeah.
20:47
SPEAKER_02: I like it.
20:48
SPEAKER_02: Um, yeah, I think if you're not feeling um like being in the flow is where you're at with everything else going on this month, then yes, absolutely.
20:58
SPEAKER_02: Not only like I talked about taking notes and using that seasonal approach reading.
21:03
SPEAKER_02: Um, and then also like thinking about a plan for the next year.
21:07
SPEAKER_02: We're filming this in 2024.
21:09
SPEAKER_02: So this might be a great time to really set some new goals for 2025.
21:13
SPEAKER_02: This, if you're going the traditional path and you're thinking about querying agents, this would be a great time to start compiling a list of agents you want to query and um spending a little time going to their websites to find out, you know, what kind of books they represent, what they're interested in, if they're open to submissions.
21:31
SPEAKER_02: This could be a good time to start building an author website or thinking about a newsletter, social media, like you could do any of those tasks in the interim for sure.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, setting setting new deadlines for yourself, of which it sounds like I'm getting some after the taping of this episode.
21:51
SPEAKER_02: Book tree?
21:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: Take notes, yeah.
21:57
SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, the same thing with uh like Taking seasonal notes for your own writing.
22:02
SPEAKER_02: It's also great later for social media or for sharing to be like, oh, hey, this is what my area of the world does look like at the holiday season, you know, when your book comes out a year, six months, two months later, whatever it is.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: I would, I would say that now thinking more about that advice to take notes and everything, that's that's almost like uh like even more of a reason to go out and do like see the shows that you have never had time to go see.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: See the go to the the display, holiday displays, go to the activities and do those things and like do it from the lens of how could this be incorporated into a story?
22:46
SPEAKER_00: Um music is an excuse, right?
22:49
SPEAKER_00: To get to get out because and you can attest to this.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: We every year we go into this and we make a lot of planning.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: Oh, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this, we're gonna, and by about the second thing, then all of a sudden we're like, whoa, there's like where did the days go?
23:05
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it just yeah, yeah.
23:08
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
23:09
SPEAKER_02: No, and we went, uh, we talked about um on one of the live streams last week how we went to a play that was not so fantastic.
23:16
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I'm gonna definitely use that for inspiration for the next bake shop mystery because I already am imagining how Lance is gonna respond to a play that goes wrong.
23:26
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, um, maybe Richard Lord is trying to direct it.
23:30
SPEAKER_02: I'm not sure yet.
23:30
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, you never know what might strike a chord.
23:34
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I just think the more experiences you have out in the world, whatever that is, you know, if it's going to your local library to check out like what's their holiday display look like, or wandering a Christmas market outside, like whatever it is, um, that expands your own world.
23:52
SPEAKER_02: And then it's something that you can add to your story.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: Love it.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's cool.
23:59
SPEAKER_02: But you always love an excuse to do anything that's holiday related.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: I I don't need excuses.
24:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm just saying if other people do, um, then I thought it might be a good, a good strategy.
24:08
SPEAKER_02: You're looking out for the writers, you're looking out for the darling.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: I don't, I I never need.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we've already seen two holiday plays.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's only December 8.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: What'd I say?
24:18
SPEAKER_00: 8th, yeah.
24:18
SPEAKER_02: So the second one was much better.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
24:22
SPEAKER_02: Can we talk a bit a little bit about the play that we saw on Friday night?
24:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: So it was it was called a Sherlock Carol, and it was um it was a Sherlock, it was a mystery, but it uh an adult tiny Tim enlists the help of Sherlock Holmes to uh investigate the mysterious passing of Ebenezer Scrooge.
24:46
SPEAKER_00: Um I won't say any more than that because it's it, I mean it it I think it's one of those plays that is put on all over the place, but um, but yeah, it was really cool.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: I I loved it.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: It was it's only it was only six, six or seven actors, six actors, I think.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: And really, really small, small theater here in uh well down in San Jose.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but it was it was really cool.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: It's very festive, uh very Charles sticking.
25:14
SPEAKER_02: So they weaved both the Sherlock and the Christmas Carol stories in.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: I know.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: There are a couple of things I want to say, but just in case somebody wants to go see it, I it would they would definitely be spoilers.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: So um yeah.
25:28
SPEAKER_02: No spoilers, no.
25:29
SPEAKER_00: But it was it was very cool.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: It made up for how bad the first one was.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: Oh we won't even get into that.
25:39
SPEAKER_02: Sometimes we need a holiday bomb, right?
25:41
SPEAKER_00: I know.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, it wasn't even we it was funny because we talked about it a little bit on the live stream that we just did for the release of your latest book, and somebody made the comment, like, wait, was it so bad that it was good?
25:52
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, No, it went, it went it it it went into the bad territory so far that it was just bad.
25:59
SPEAKER_00: There was no good.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: I well, there were a few good things, like it had the set design and the the ghost of Christmas feature, because this was another uh uh Christmas Carol themed play, version, a version of it.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: Um uh and the ghost of Christmas feature was probably the best one that I've seen.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: And and I've probably seen a couple dozen uh productions of a Christmas Carol live on stage, and then probably twice or three times as many of that on TV, like TV shows and maybe versions.
26:34
SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, literally your whole December is just watching every version from the Muppets to I yeah Scott, right?
26:42
SPEAKER_00: Right.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: I yeah, uh watch them all.
26:45
SPEAKER_00: The the original back, I think it was like was it in like 1920 something?
26:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I just I love that story.
26:55
SPEAKER_00: I love the um the uh yeah, so any chance I get to see it, I'm I'm really excited.
27:00
SPEAKER_00: And I think that made that that particular play, the the the one that was bad, it made it really it hurt.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: It really hurt, man.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: That was a kickoff.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: I know that was terrible.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: It was supposed to be amazing, and it just yeah, didn't not so much didn't take.
27:19
SPEAKER_02: The thing is we almost left it intermission, yeah, which we never do.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: Like we're just we usually, I mean, I we love theater, hence why the bake shop mysteries exist.
27:29
SPEAKER_02: I mean, that was my whole inspiration was not just OSF, but we used to always go to Portland Center Stage.
27:35
SPEAKER_02: We'll go to small community theater.
27:37
SPEAKER_02: Like, I just love being in the theater, as do you.
27:40
SPEAKER_02: But um, we looked at each other at intermission and we're like, should we be able?
27:44
SPEAKER_02: But I'm really glad we didn't because the set design and the costumes like you were talking about were some of the best I've ever seen.
27:50
SPEAKER_02: Um, so that's worth it.
27:51
SPEAKER_02: But um, it makes me also think like, and my slant is I'm never also gonna put anything negative out in the world.
27:58
SPEAKER_02: Somebody might go to this show and love it.
27:59
SPEAKER_02: It's like books, you know?
28:00
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
28:01
SPEAKER_02: A book that I didn't enjoy, someone else might really resonate with.
28:04
SPEAKER_02: So I don't want to put that shade out there.
28:06
SPEAKER_02: And I also know how hard everyone in that theater company worked to put on that production.
28:11
SPEAKER_00: Well, and those actors were probably uh they're probably great actors.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they they really are.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: It just and which is why we're not saying the name of the play.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's just you know, it is what it is.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: Like you said, everything's subjective.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: I just uh like my I we we happen to be on the same page for this one, and it just wasn't great.
28:30
SPEAKER_02: So no, but what it makes me think of is um you with like a bad beer, because this is like the home brewer in you right going into Sloan mode for a second, uh which is you will drink a terrible beer.
28:45
SPEAKER_02: Like if you order a beer when we're out and it's bad, you have this code that you have to finish it.
28:51
SPEAKER_02: Where I totally never in a million years finish some of the brewer's code.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: It's the brewer's code.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: I mean, the thing is, like I I'm I like we're very much alike in that way.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: Like, I would I'm I'm not gonna go out of my way to bash somebody for creating anything that I feel is bad.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: I won't recommend it to people.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: And and like with a beer, like somebody spent time making that.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: So I, you know, and I paid for it, so I'm gonna I I'll muscle through it.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, just and I'll follow it up with a good beer as my second one for that.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay, that's that's okay.
29:28
SPEAKER_02: Well, I I do have to tell this holiday story because and I won't name names, but um, there is a brewery in Portland that is the inspiration for my very first mysteries.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: Your stomach still hurts, you know.
29:41
SPEAKER_02: The Pacific Northwest mysteries, and many years ago, this is like 10 or 15 years ago, they brewed this special beer.
29:49
SPEAKER_02: Um, that I can't remember how much it was, but I feel like it was like$20 for one pint, which you know, back at that time it was more than that.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was twenty it was twenty-eight dollars, and it was a it was a wax dipped um bottle.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: So it was like you know, special holiday bottle.
30:10
SPEAKER_00: Um and they'd bring it out and peel it off and open it and serve it for you right there at the table.
30:17
SPEAKER_02: The whole production, yeah.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: It was it was a mistake.
30:23
SPEAKER_00: Like they made a mistake.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: Something happened in the brewing process, and it it was it was not a sour.
30:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, there are some amazing sour.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't particularly like that style of beer, but they're but I've had some really good sours where I can tell from all my years of brewing experience and everything, like and drinking beer experience.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, I I can tell when a beer is a good beer, even if it's not good to my palate subjectively, you know.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, I can tell if it's a good beer.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: This was a mistake.
30:56
SPEAKER_00: Like it was something went wrong during the fermentation process, and they decided, you know what we can do?
31:04
SPEAKER_00: Rather than dump out what was probably 1,500 gallons of beer, let's just bottle it and call it.
31:10
SPEAKER_00: And it I won't say the name because I remember the name clearly, just very distinctly, but I won't I won't say the name and we'll we'll charge extra for it and a lot extra, a lot extra.
31:21
SPEAKER_00: And the thing is, like you can the the unfortunate thing about human nature is that you can trick people into thinking that something terrible is actually awesome if you make it seem exclusive, and it it did not work on me.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: Like I was like you were not pulled, but I but I stupidly because of what you were just talking about about how I always finished a beer, I finished a beer.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: I that is the first time I've ever had a beer where my stomach hurt.
31:50
SPEAKER_00: Like it literally like there was something wrong with this beer.
31:54
SPEAKER_02: You're legit sick for like two days after you drank it.
31:58
SPEAKER_02: I took one taste and was like, oh hell no.
32:00
SPEAKER_00: Like it's I just yeah, that was that was a mistake on my part.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: It was, but you know, shame on me, I guess, for for believing that you know they would uh I don't know that it was it was bad.
32:14
SPEAKER_00: Um uh I think I even let the waiter know that when when they came back, I was like, No, yeah, because I was like, I just like the I you guys because they this particular brewery makes some amazing beer.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: Um this was not there.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: Holiday beer, right?
32:32
SPEAKER_00: Well, our favorite holiday beer now because our previous favorite beer is no longer in existence.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: Um, by the way, if anybody's listening to this and happens to have the recipe for Bobby Dazzler ale from Portland Brewing, uh, which is no longer in existence.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: No, please reach out, get in touch with me.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: Like I have been looking.
32:56
SPEAKER_00: I just uh and and you know the funny thing is like that's a memory, right?
33:01
SPEAKER_00: Going back to the whole take notes now, um, so you can uh remember it for your writing and stuff.
33:06
SPEAKER_00: That is a memory.
33:07
SPEAKER_00: I remember going down to Portland Brewing, and I don't know if we had that beer now, maybe we'd be like, eh, what I don't know, this isn't anything special, but it was like that particular tap room, the setting in Portland in during the holiday season, decked out with all the decorations and just it was just magical.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: And I I miss that one.
33:29
SPEAKER_00: That is like if I could, if I could somebody had a case of Bobby Dazzler, um, that was fresh, because I think it would be pretty terrible now by now.
33:38
SPEAKER_00: But uh they're they haven't been around for like 20 years, but it's 25 years maybe.
33:44
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, I would take it.
33:46
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that would I pay a lot of money for that.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: I that I miss that beer.
33:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that's like a core holiday memory.
33:53
SPEAKER_02: But um, this story of you know, the um marketing genius is what we should say about this brewery.
34:00
SPEAKER_02: Like props to them.
34:01
SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, I gotta I should just write a terrible book and be like exclusive, only 10 people can have it.
34:08
SPEAKER_02: Totally$500 for a copy.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: Totally, yeah.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: It's the worst, worst$28 I've ever spent in my entire life.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: That's all I'll say.
34:17
SPEAKER_02: But I feel like this has to work into a Sloan Kraus pistry somehow.
34:20
SPEAKER_02: It's good.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:22
SPEAKER_02: Uh Sloan and Garrett wouldn't do this, so maybe there's like a new carbup brewery in town or somebody.
34:28
SPEAKER_00: Definitely, yeah, definitely.
34:30
SPEAKER_00: It's gotta be where they brew it and it's a mistake, but they bottle it and they and and they like they actually, oh no, I've got I've got a great idea.
34:40
SPEAKER_00: We'll we'll talk about this after.
34:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:43
SPEAKER_02: I need some new plots.
34:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
34:46
SPEAKER_02: Um, the one shout out that I have to give for because I don't I love a Christmas carol, but I I don't lean into your obsession with it, maybe to the same level.
34:56
SPEAKER_02: You do a lot of these viewings on your own.
34:59
SPEAKER_02: Um is the man who saved Christmas?
35:04
SPEAKER_00: The man who invented Christmas who invented Christmas.
35:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
35:07
SPEAKER_02: Love this movie.
35:08
SPEAKER_02: And if you're a reader or a writer, I think you should watch this movie because it really does help you step into what it's like to be in a writer's head.
35:18
SPEAKER_02: Um, I don't see things visually.
35:20
SPEAKER_02: We've talked about this, but when I'm in my office working on a story, like Lance is talking to me and Carlos is talking to me over here.
35:26
SPEAKER_02: And um, I just think the movie so perfectly captures that.
35:30
SPEAKER_02: So add that to your holiday viewing list.
35:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that is that is definitely in my top 10 um for holiday movies, uh, of which I have a deadline, right?
35:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm supposed to come up with a list that we're supposed we're gonna release.
35:44
SPEAKER_02: So yes, the darlings are asking for your holiday list.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: So that's this is a this is a curated list too.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: This isn't any of this crap that's out there where there's like, you know, 150 best Christmas.
35:56
SPEAKER_00: There aren't a hundred and fifth Christmas movies out there.
36:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna everything's subjective, but I'll tell you right now, there aren't a hundred and fifty best.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: There no 10.
36:06
SPEAKER_00: You don't have a top 10 list, but 150, that's pushing it because there's a lot of junk out there too.
36:12
SPEAKER_02: What are you thinking for your curated list?
36:14
SPEAKER_00: Do you have a number in mind, or is it just gonna be based on your uh but how many how many slides can you include in Instagram?
36:23
SPEAKER_00: 20 now.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
36:26
SPEAKER_02: Do you have 20?
36:28
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: That that might be pushing it.
36:30
SPEAKER_00: The 20 best?
36:30
SPEAKER_00: I have 20.
36:32
SPEAKER_00: I have 10 great babies for sure.
36:35
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and then 10 if you've got time, these would be good too.
36:39
SPEAKER_02: Okay, I like that.
36:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, okay.
36:41
SPEAKER_02: 10 great if you've got time.
36:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
36:44
SPEAKER_02: Stay tuned.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
36:46
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I could fill the whole carousel with versions of a Christmas carol, too, but maybe maybe that's a second post.
36:54
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
36:55
SPEAKER_02: That's a bonus.
36:56
SPEAKER_02: Darlings are gonna be on their toes, just waiting with eager ancient with tech guys.
37:02
SPEAKER_02: Top 10.
37:02
SPEAKER_02: Let's go.
37:03
SPEAKER_00: Top top 20 Christmas Carol uh edition.
37:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
37:10
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
37:10
SPEAKER_02: Well, um, I think on that note, it might be the time to say until next time.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: Let's recap, let's recap what so because we we went off on a holiday tangent, which I'm always happy to do, whatever time of the year, because it's always Christmas somewhere, right?
37:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I don't think that's actually true.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: But um well, there's actually a store in Leavenworth where it is Christmas with 365 days a year.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: So uh it's one of my favorite stops whenever we're up there for Slim Krauss.
37:39
SPEAKER_00: Choker.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: But for all the writers out there, what what are what are the what are the top tips again?
37:45
SPEAKER_00: Just to close, just to recap, uh what are the top tips that they should keep in mind for the holiday season?
37:51
SPEAKER_02: Do not force a story if you have too many other holiday distractions and stress.
37:56
SPEAKER_02: Just don't.
37:57
SPEAKER_02: It's not worth it.
37:58
SPEAKER_02: You're gonna do so much more makeup work.
38:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh take copious notes, like go enjoy the season and start a file of future writing inspiration.
38:08
SPEAKER_02: That could be videos, notes, photos, all the things, and go experience them.
38:13
SPEAKER_02: Curl up on your couch and give yourself permission to read, but read widely, like you know, read a bunch of cozies if you're writing a cozy, but read two or three or four or five other things.
38:22
SPEAKER_02: And um, if you are in the zone, stick with it.
38:26
SPEAKER_02: Uh, what else do we talk about?
38:27
SPEAKER_02: Oh, um, if you also just don't feel like you have the structure for writing, do all the other things to prep for 2025.
38:37
SPEAKER_02: Um, agent query lists, getting your manuscript, finding beta readers, social media, newsletter, website, like any of the business side of writing, focus on that.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
38:49
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's great.
38:50
SPEAKER_01: Have a lovely holiday season.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: Enjoy writing, enjoy the holidays.
38:55
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
38:56
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
38:57
SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, on that note then, until next time.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Until next time.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: Happy holidays.
39:03
SPEAKER_01: Happy holidays.