The Creative Boost

Travel of late has been regional. Wineries in Virginia were a definite highlight. Good company. Good wine. Food. What more could one ask for on a Saturday. I even bought a few bottles of white--which I never drink (just ask my sister). My favorite was a port(or Snort as they call it!) produced by the La Grange winery.

If you can't have a good time going to a winery, you need to pull the dirt over your head because you have obviously died!

This weekend, I road-tripped to Bethlehem, PA. At first glance, one must wonder—WHY? What could possibly be in Bethlehem, PA?

Answer—Bob Mayer giving his infamous, brain-overloading all day fiction writing workshop based on his book, The Novel Writer’s Toolkit.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this minor adventure. At three hours away, it's not much of a roadtrip, but I wanted to hang out in the company of writers for a day. I find that due to travel and work, I’ve managed to distance myself from 'my people' and that is counter-productive on both a creative and networking level.

So, off to the Bethlehem--sans manger. First night. Fabu. I had a lovely dinner with two other writers. (Hi Ann and Joanne! We talked for hours.

Next day—Bob's workshop.

Wow. I have to say, the man gives an amazing workshop. it moves at a break-neck pace. There is no mincing of words. No coddling. Yet he manages to keep his message optimistic. The process he offered is creative, yet linear, and for me—that’s a good thing since I have a linear brain. Wonder of wonders—he also uses excel. Thanks God, I was starting to feel like I was the only one who used it to track plot and characters.

Granted, I know most of what he discussed. MOST. But not all. I am not too proud to say that there were some techniques he pointed out that gave me a definite OMG, how could I not have noticed that moment. The funny thing (funny=interesting. Not funny=ha ha) is that when I thought about my books that I considered successful, I had implemented those very techniques.

I guess we do pick things up subconsciously. Go figure.

Now, I am home. Refreshed. Revived. Ready to write. And working on the next novel. And for the first time in what feels like weeks, I am enjoying the process! Going to a workshop like this is like getting a booster shot of creativity and there is something to be said for looking at technique in a different way. It opens the mind to other possibilities on many levels and trust me, that helps when it come to producing the next book.

Now, back to writing.

And we have a winner!

Thank you to everyone who participated in or read my blog yesterday over at Pink Heart Society. I enjoy the site so much--it's great too see other's visiting. I love reading the insight and comments (both serious and humorous!) from both authors and readers.

And as part of my blog, I am selecting a winner from the comments to receive a free copy of Breathless. And the winner is Rebekah! Rebekah, email me your address (sharron@sharronmcclellan.c0m) and I'll get a book in the mail ASAP.


Thanks again to everyone!

Pants off! Dance Off!

Being a writer can be a lonely profession. We spend a lot of time by ourselves, and in my case, the writers I talk to all live in other states. So last weekend, I decided it was time to visit! I called Tracy Montoya on Monday (she lives in Florida), got a ticket and flew down on Thursday (yet another spur of the moment trip--the best kind!).

Things I love about visiting my friends:
1) No expectations on either side. I am low-maintenance. I do not need to be taken places. Don’t need to go to Disney world. Or the Mall. I like to hang out, chat and just catch up. My friends get that and it seems to work for all involved.

2) Meeting the family. Parts of being a friend is knowing what's important in their life and letting it be important to you as well. In Tracy's case, she has a husband (sometimes referred to as a Cuban God) and two really adorable kids. I liked them all and it's fun to watch Tracy when she wears the "Mom" hat.

3) Being with someone who get's my job. If you're not a writer or artist of some sort, you might get parts but you just don't get the 'crazy' that goes on in my head. My writer friends get it.

4) Same weird sense of humor. Case in point. Tracy and I were up late and scrolling through Tivo. And what do we see? A show called "Pants Off. Dance Off". We have to watch it! To sum it up--it's average people in a stripping competition. Big. Little. Fit. Husky. Men. Women. All shapes and sizes of people. And when we tuned it the dancers were in costume! The weirdest was the clown. I think clowns are scary anyway. Factor in the stripping and it was like watching a garish, painted train wreck. Still, we watched, laughed our asses off and then watched another hour of this show.

Can't wait to go back!

Random Christmas Thoughts

1) Christmas lights synchronized to music are AWESOME! I find the whole show memorizing.



2) A yard full of un-inflated holiday decorations is NOT awesome and makes me think of an cheerful Christmas graveyard. Which leads me to…

3) I seem to have a lot of random thoughts about zombies as of late. Nothing to do with Christmas but still, they keep popping up.


4) You’re never too old to get a stuffed animal, but only if it makes a sound like a really angry squirrel. This is TAS (tiny angry squirrel) and while you can't hear him, trust me, he sounds absolutely, positively pissed.

5) My sister and I were discussing height and she said she was 5’2”. I thought to myself, “Self, she’s wrong. She’s taller. And while you’re thinking about yourself in third person, how tall are you? You tell everyone 5’8”, but are you?” We got out the tape measure and she’s 5’3.5” and I am 5’7”. WTF?! So I’ve decided to stick with 5’8 anyway as my Christmas present to myself.

Happy Holidays!!

Birthday Girl!!

Today is my birthday. Even at 44, I still love birthdays. Not for the gifts (though I d love presents!) but because birthdays are like individual New Years. While I don’t make resolutions, I do think about where I’ve been and where I’d like to go. This year, I thought I’d do something different. I wrote my obituary.

Now, before you are creeped out or wonder WTF I am thinking (!), this isn’t about death. It’s about my life. Who I am now, who I am working to become and what I hope people will remember about me.

So… NYT Best-selling author, Sharron McClellan, died last night at the age of 113.
Sharron is best know to the public for both her action-adventure novels, movies, and in particular, her beloved North Mackenzie character. While she claims that North was not based on her life, she led a life not unlike an action-adventure novel. From the jungles of Indonesia to the Deserts of Africa and the cities of Europe, she traveled the world experiencing various cultures and incorporating them into her books.

Women, in particular, will remember her angryromancegrrl character--a snarky, sarcastic iconic cartoon. From dating to marriage, angryromancegrrl voiced the thoughts and feelings of women worldwide. Sharron was particularly proud of her even though, Sharron said, she made dating hell.

Besides her beloved characters and exciting stories, Sharron is remembered for her fearlessness, her determination to do the ‘right thing’ even when (as she said) it sucked, her desire to never be bored, and her sarcastic sense of humor.

She leaves behind her 4th husband (Name to be inserted at a later time), her pool-boy Javier , her two sisters, Glennis and Heather and her two brothers, Gary and Patrick.

And, of course, Cathy and Tracy, who will be consoling Javier after the burial. Good luck ladies! :D

Great night--for lots of reason!

I love Annapolis at Christmas. The lights. The cold wind blowing off the water. The people bundled up and walking about the town. It’s wonderful. Sue (my sailing friend) and I walked over the town last night, looking at the light, stopping at the occasional bar for a hot-buttered rum and (basically) bumming around and having a great time.

Then to top it off—we stopped at a bar just before crossing the bridge and I got CARDED.

Sweet!!

Granted, I don’t think she thought I was under 21 but mostly, it you look 30ish—you get carded. Considering I’ll be 44 in less than a week, it was a great night. Woohoo!!

Born to Run

Some of us are born to run and if you've read my blog, you know that I am a runner. I don’t' mean pounding the streets in my Adidas but run as in 'Run to someplace or someone' or perhaps 'run away from something or someone'. The reason vary. Boredom. Urge to learn. To experience the world. Broken hearted. Being chased by the mafia. Need a break from reality. It doesn’t really matter, I suppose. If you’re a runner, you’ll always find a reason to put your feet to the pavement and forge a new path. We don’t' need much to move onward, just a nudge.

And it's not an easy life. The hardest thing? There aren't many people who want to run with you! It's a solitary existence and I am not a solitary person.

So, what next? Do I run? Do I give in to impulse? I don’t know. I do know that I’ll take time off during the holidays. A few people are convinced that once I leave the country I’ll stay gone. They might be right. But, I don’t think so. I think I’ll return for at least a while.

So, why do people run? As you can see, it’s never just one reason. Never that simple. But then life never is.