Which is the most important to you?

Assuming the absurd that it isn't the whole package, what is the one ingredient of a book that is the most important piece? Which would you chose: the story, the editing, the layout, the quality of the final product, the cover art, or something else?

Read any good books lately?

It's five AM and the mowers are rolling across the golf course (I hate that noise!). I'm sorting through emails before work.

Work? Yes, by day I'm a social worker who works with people who have developmental disabilities. Pretty cool job.

Anyway, the point I'm aiming for is that amidst the email from the lawyer and the advertisement with coupon for business supplies, is the daily feed of publishing news.

There is an article or two about price fixing and how eBooks are too expensive (really? it isn't my fault you bought an expensive eReader).

Forgotten is the time and expertise that goes into creating a book out of an ms. Not to mention that there are several prevailing digital formats to address. Am I the only one who remembers BETA and VHS?

The discussion should be a bit less about price (and price fixing) and a bit more about content. What is a well crafted story worth?

I believe...

I had a boss who used to say, "You just couldn't make this stuff up," as he marveled at the stupidity of the directives from his boss. (None of us disagreed with his assessment.) Twice this week something happened that was so odd that it was followed by, "If you wrote that, no one would believe it."

What is it that writers do to make fiction seem real? Is it the characters, the setting, the story, or all of those combined? Or do different things convince different readers to dispense with reality and enter the reality of the story?

Do readers watch for that one piece of them or someone they know in a character before the character takes on life-like qualities? Is it the little detail in the setting that makes it come to life, like the mist that blows inland from the waves at the beach?

When I read a story, I try to watch for that point when I become committed to read on because I can't not read it. The trouble is, I realize I'm committed long after it has happened.

Think of your favorite book, the one you've read more times than other book. What is it that the author did that connected with you to make you read it again?

DemYStifying dyslexia [DYS-ing my dyslexia]

Let's make this easy, so we can sit back and enjoy our time together. There are tons of 'types' of dyslexia. The easiest (and unscientific) way to explain mine to 'normal' people is to say that written English is my second language. Keep in mind, American English is the only language I've ever spoken.

The person who tanked in foreign language class likely did so because they thought in their primary language, then translated into the language they were learning. Of course, the trick is to think in the second language.

With me, I think in my first language (dyslexia) and translate into WRITTEN English when I write. To read, I translate written English into my first language, then into spoken English. As you can see, it is a bit easier for me to write than to read, because there is one less translation in the process.

The reason I titled this blog FIRST DRAFT is because it is what it is. I'll do my best. If my errors are annoying, this isn't the blog for you. If they are laughable, then come get some stress relief at my expense.

Next: a word about writing fiction. Fiction is lies, all lies. Fiction writers hope they are believable lies, but fiction isn't true. (And neither is anything I write about people in this blog.) As a writer, I tend to exaggerate and go for the dramatic punch line to make my point. Other times, I will 'sincerely' propose the opposite of what I believe or something outrageously stupid to make my reader think.

I've written three [very popular] novels, so 'handicapped' is a relative term. Let's don't let 'handicaps' define people.

Look what I saw after I wrote this blog: http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20090403/ts_usnews/how1autisticyoungmanrunsabusiness