Blog
Who Tells Your Story?
Jan 24, 2017 by Victoria Noe
mnu.edu
“Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” – Hamilton: An American Musical
The best movie I’ve seen in a long time is Hidden Figures, the story of the African-American female mathematicians who helped NASA put men in space. I’m old enough to remember the Mercury astronauts and when a space launch was reason to gather your family around the TV. Everyone we ever saw in the NASA control rooms was a white man. So when the movie – and book by Margot Lee Shetterly – were released, the most common reaction was “I never knew that.” The second most common reaction was “Why haven’t we heard this story before?”
Hidden Figures is not the first book or...
“Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” – Hamilton: An American Musical
The best movie I’ve seen in a long time is Hidden Figures, the story of the African-American female mathematicians who helped NASA put men in space. I’m old enough to remember the Mercury astronauts and when a space launch was reason to gather your family around the TV. Everyone we ever saw in the NASA control rooms was a white man. So when the movie – and book by Margot Lee Shetterly – were released, the most common reaction was “I never knew that.” The second most common reaction was “Why haven’t we heard this story before?”
Hidden Figures is not the first book or...
Why Editing is Like Physical Therapy
Jan 18, 2017 by Victoria Noe
My hand, 3 days after my accident
The end of October I fell and broke my hand. It was the first time I’ve ever broken a bone and I made up for lost time by breaking four of them. A few hours later, I was in surgery having five pins inserted (being awake for it wasn’t so bad, but I could’ve done without listening to the drill). The pins stayed in for almost five weeks. Physical therapy (more accurately, occupational therapy) began less than two weeks after the accident.
It’s a long road: at least another month of twice/weekly torture sessions and two dozen daily exercises. Full recovery will take a year, so I have a ways to...
The end of October I fell and broke my hand. It was the first time I’ve ever broken a bone and I made up for lost time by breaking four of them. A few hours later, I was in surgery having five pins inserted (being awake for it wasn’t so bad, but I could’ve done without listening to the drill). The pins stayed in for almost five weeks. Physical therapy (more accurately, occupational therapy) began less than two weeks after the accident.
It’s a long road: at least another month of twice/weekly torture sessions and two dozen daily exercises. Full recovery will take a year, so I have a ways to...
New Year, New Book, New Day
Jan 11, 2017 by Victoria Noe
I’m a little weird about calendars. I’ll buy a planner in the fall, so I can start writing down commitments in the next year. But I refuse to put up a new wall calendar until January 1. This year I had a lot of events to add. Having my writing career – and other things – come to a full stop after breaking my hand, I’m finally beginning to play catch-up. I’m not fully healed yet, but the calendar is filling up.
Travel begins the end of March. I start where I finished so abruptly last October: New York, to conduct the interviews I had to cancel after my accident. Then it’s down to Washington, DC for AIDSWatch, two days of...
Travel begins the end of March. I start where I finished so abruptly last October: New York, to conduct the interviews I had to cancel after my accident. Then it’s down to Washington, DC for AIDSWatch, two days of...
Grief, Loss and The Hallmark Channel
Jan 04, 2017 by Victoria Noe
Normally after a traumatic event I try to make sense of it. After 9/11 I was glued to the TV, watching everything trying to understand what was impossible to understand. But after the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando last June that left 49 people dead, I couldn’t watch anything on the news. Not a thing. So I did something I’d never done before:
I watched a Hallmark Channel movie. Actually, I watched a lot of them because there are actually two Hallmark Channels (one is Movies and Mysteries).
There was a certain comfort in the predictability: no violence to speak of. Dead bodies were remarkably intact, no blood or missing limbs. The plots of what were mostly mysteries were easily solved in...
I watched a Hallmark Channel movie. Actually, I watched a lot of them because there are actually two Hallmark Channels (one is Movies and Mysteries).
There was a certain comfort in the predictability: no violence to speak of. Dead bodies were remarkably intact, no blood or missing limbs. The plots of what were mostly mysteries were easily solved in...
Travel Tips for Writers
Dec 14, 2016 by Victoria Noe
Brooklyn
My friend, Porter Anderson, wrote about the importance of travel for writers. Sometimes all it takes is some alone time in a different place to dissolve writer’s block, recharge your batteries or find inspiration. And we all agree we’d do more of it if we could.
What’s stopping you?
Money.
I thought I’d expand on Porter’s tips (he won't mind), since a lot of us are making plans for 2017. Here are some ways you can make those trips happen:
Lodging. Be flexible, but loyal. Are there places you return to time and again? I’m in New York a lot. There are two hotels I’ve returned to over a dozen times. Because they’re both part of the same brand loyalty...
My friend, Porter Anderson, wrote about the importance of travel for writers. Sometimes all it takes is some alone time in a different place to dissolve writer’s block, recharge your batteries or find inspiration. And we all agree we’d do more of it if we could.
What’s stopping you?
Money.
I thought I’d expand on Porter’s tips (he won't mind), since a lot of us are making plans for 2017. Here are some ways you can make those trips happen:
Lodging. Be flexible, but loyal. Are there places you return to time and again? I’m in New York a lot. There are two hotels I’ve returned to over a dozen times. Because they’re both part of the same brand loyalty...
'Tis the Season for Writing and Giving
Nov 30, 2016 by Victoria Noe
It’s that time of year for shopping and digging a little deeper to support worthy causes.
The appeals are relentless: junk mail, phone calls, emails, tweets and Facebook posts. Every day, starting in earnest at Thanksgiving and not letting up until New Year’s Eve. As a former fundraiser, I’ve learned over the years to ignore most of those appeals.
But the truth is, most people really do want to help. And every donation helps.
Early on in the writing of the Friend Grief series, I knew I wanted to designate a charity partner for at least one of the books. I researched organizations, met with a few of their founders. One decision came easily.
The second book –Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of...
The appeals are relentless: junk mail, phone calls, emails, tweets and Facebook posts. Every day, starting in earnest at Thanksgiving and not letting up until New Year’s Eve. As a former fundraiser, I’ve learned over the years to ignore most of those appeals.
But the truth is, most people really do want to help. And every donation helps.
Early on in the writing of the Friend Grief series, I knew I wanted to designate a charity partner for at least one of the books. I researched organizations, met with a few of their founders. One decision came easily.
The second book –Friend Grief and AIDS: Thirty Years of...
Holidays and Friend Grief
Nov 22, 2016 by Victoria Noe
It's been a tough year, as I wrote last week. Many of us lost friends and the holidays are not always kind for those who grieve. So I'm sharing this post from 2012 as a reminder to take care of ourselves and keep our friendships in our hearts:
I hated the holidays – Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day – when I was single and not dating. I felt like it was the annual reminder from the universe that I was alone. Everyone had someone during the holidays except me. At least that’s what it felt like.
It’s hard to lose a friend, whether they were our best friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, the girl whose locker was next to ours. The holidays are...
I hated the holidays – Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day – when I was single and not dating. I felt like it was the annual reminder from the universe that I was alone. Everyone had someone during the holidays except me. At least that’s what it felt like.
It’s hard to lose a friend, whether they were our best friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, the girl whose locker was next to ours. The holidays are...
The Year of Grieving
Nov 15, 2016 by Victoria Noe
“I love you for my life, you are a friend of mine, and when my life is over, remember when we were together, we were alone and I was singing this song to you.” - Leon Russell (1942-2016)
It's been a hell of a year: Prince. Bowie. Natalie Cole. Alan Rickman. Pat Conroy. Leonard Cohen. Brian Bedford. Tammy Grimes. George Martin. Joe Garagiola. Patty Duke. Muhammad Ali. Gwen Ifill. Elie Wiesel. Gene Wilder. Edward Albee. Arnold Palmer. Robert Vaughn. And that's a partial list. I feel like I've been in mourning since New Year's Day, when Jo Stewart, the leader of my first writing group, died. And I guess that's true. The people on that list weren't friends. I have a letter from one who I dared to...
A Bump in the Road
Nov 02, 2016 by Victoria Noe
Ugly, isn't it?
This week's blog post is short but not so sweet.
The first week of my trip to New York was amazing. I attended a panel discussion that included Kelsey Louie, Executive Director of GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis) and one of its founders, Larry Kramer. I heard another panel speak on the narrativization of AIDS in the dance community.
I interviewed ten amazing women who you'll meet in Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community.
I launched my Indiegogo campaign to support the book. I was on a roll.
And then I wasn't.
On Saturday I tripped and fell, breaking two fingers. Had surgery to insert 5 pins that will be removed in a month. I'm...
This week's blog post is short but not so sweet.
The first week of my trip to New York was amazing. I attended a panel discussion that included Kelsey Louie, Executive Director of GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis) and one of its founders, Larry Kramer. I heard another panel speak on the narrativization of AIDS in the dance community.
I interviewed ten amazing women who you'll meet in Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community.
I launched my Indiegogo campaign to support the book. I was on a roll.
And then I wasn't.
On Saturday I tripped and fell, breaking two fingers. Had surgery to insert 5 pins that will be removed in a month. I'm...
The Next Stage for My Next Book
Oct 26, 2016 by Victoria Noe
I'll be there this week interviewing women for the book.
I’m back…in New York, that is. The last couple trips here I was doing research for my next book, Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community. I’m on a first-name basis with the research librarians at the New York Public Library (5th Avenue and Lincoln Center). They’ve been a great help to me: “That tape is out for digitization, but I took the liberty of pulling the transcript for you.”
This trip marks the next stage for the book. I’m not done with the research; not by a long shot. But between previous visits here, research online and at the U...
I’m back…in New York, that is. The last couple trips here I was doing research for my next book, Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community. I’m on a first-name basis with the research librarians at the New York Public Library (5th Avenue and Lincoln Center). They’ve been a great help to me: “That tape is out for digitization, but I took the liberty of pulling the transcript for you.”
This trip marks the next stage for the book. I’m not done with the research; not by a long shot. But between previous visits here, research online and at the U...
My Day at a Library Conference
Oct 20, 2016 by Victoria Noe
Sharing a table with James Gordon
In a former life, I was a vendor for Chicago Public Schools. I repped two children’s book publishers (one at a time) for fifteen years, working mostly with the school librarians. That experience could be a book in itself.
Occasionally, I had a booth at an educational conference: statewide library or teacher gatherings. I had the whole booth to myself (at considerable expense). I hauled boxes and boxes of inventory to set-up and sell, along with catalogs and order forms. It was hard work, but I usually did well. I almost always did it alone. That wasn’t unusual. A lot of vendors ran their booths alone. Only the really big companies had...
In a former life, I was a vendor for Chicago Public Schools. I repped two children’s book publishers (one at a time) for fifteen years, working mostly with the school librarians. That experience could be a book in itself.
Occasionally, I had a booth at an educational conference: statewide library or teacher gatherings. I had the whole booth to myself (at considerable expense). I hauled boxes and boxes of inventory to set-up and sell, along with catalogs and order forms. It was hard work, but I usually did well. I almost always did it alone. That wasn’t unusual. A lot of vendors ran their booths alone. Only the really big companies had...
Friend Grief and Facebook Memories
Oct 12, 2016 by Victoria Noe
If you’ve been on Facebook for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed the daily “Facebook Memories” that pop up.
Your comments, photos and shared posts are resurrected by Facebook every day. I find them mostly fun reminders of where I was and what I was doing a year or two or six ago. I enjoy seeing other people’s memories pop up, too. But sometimes, the reminders are not so pleasant.
Facebook doesn’t discriminate. The reminders can be of natural disasters or violence. They can be of joyous occasions. Sometimes, though, the reminders are bittersweet at best. Because sometimes they remind us of the friends we grieve.
For one friend, a birthday memory he posted a year ago popped up, the memory of...
Your comments, photos and shared posts are resurrected by Facebook every day. I find them mostly fun reminders of where I was and what I was doing a year or two or six ago. I enjoy seeing other people’s memories pop up, too. But sometimes, the reminders are not so pleasant.
Facebook doesn’t discriminate. The reminders can be of natural disasters or violence. They can be of joyous occasions. Sometimes, though, the reminders are bittersweet at best. Because sometimes they remind us of the friends we grieve.
For one friend, a birthday memory he posted a year ago popped up, the memory of...
Indie Authors, Libraries and Discoverability
Oct 05, 2016 by Victoria Noe
123rf.com
What’s the hardest part of being an author?
Some people will say it’s the writing itself. Others insist it’s the editing process. But most will agree that the hardest part is figuring out how to be discovered by eager readers.
The challenge – no matter how they publish – is for their book to rise above the ever-increasing numbers of titles published each year. For those of us who are indie authors, it is daunting.
Bowker, the company that issues ISBN numbers to authors in the US, just released their report on 2015. Last year 625,327 indie titles were issued ISBN numbers in the US. That’s over 1,700 each and every day, weekends and holidays included.
Now consider the fact...
What’s the hardest part of being an author?
Some people will say it’s the writing itself. Others insist it’s the editing process. But most will agree that the hardest part is figuring out how to be discovered by eager readers.
The challenge – no matter how they publish – is for their book to rise above the ever-increasing numbers of titles published each year. For those of us who are indie authors, it is daunting.
Bowker, the company that issues ISBN numbers to authors in the US, just released their report on 2015. Last year 625,327 indie titles were issued ISBN numbers in the US. That’s over 1,700 each and every day, weekends and holidays included.
Now consider the fact...
A Grand Slam for a Friend
Sep 28, 2016 by Victoria Noe
Jose Fernandez - ESPN.com
Anyone who’s a baseball fan – and probably a lot who aren’t – heard about the tragic death of Miami Marlins star pitcher, Jose Fernandez. The 24 year old died along with two other men in a boating accident Saturday night.
I couldn’t help but think of the 2002 death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Daryl Kile, who died of a heart attack during a road trip in Chicago. His was the first death of a major league player during the regular season since Yankee great Thurman Munson died in a plane crash in 1979.
I wrote about Kile and his teammates’ reactions to his death – both immediately and long-term – in my book...
Anyone who’s a baseball fan – and probably a lot who aren’t – heard about the tragic death of Miami Marlins star pitcher, Jose Fernandez. The 24 year old died along with two other men in a boating accident Saturday night.
I couldn’t help but think of the 2002 death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Daryl Kile, who died of a heart attack during a road trip in Chicago. His was the first death of a major league player during the regular season since Yankee great Thurman Munson died in a plane crash in 1979.
I wrote about Kile and his teammates’ reactions to his death – both immediately and long-term – in my book...
Mark Your Calendar for Indie Author Day
Sep 21, 2016 by Victoria Noe
I love libraries, don't you? But until recently, my books were not available there, in print or ebook. That changed when the first four Friend Grief ebooks were accepted by Library Journal's SELF-e program for their Illinois and National Select collections. Print, however, was a different story.
Authors want to see their books in public libraries: actual, physical books. But too often, indie authors are shut out. The reasons are, well, reasonable. The sheer number of indie authors is growing every day. The number of librarians is much smaller. They simply don’t have the time to meet and greet every author who walks in to sell their books.
Purchasing requirements vary from library system to library system. When you’re on your own...
Authors want to see their books in public libraries: actual, physical books. But too often, indie authors are shut out. The reasons are, well, reasonable. The sheer number of indie authors is growing every day. The number of librarians is much smaller. They simply don’t have the time to meet and greet every author who walks in to sell their books.
Purchasing requirements vary from library system to library system. When you’re on your own...
5 Easy Steps to Being a Better Writer
Sep 13, 2016 by Victoria Noe
gallery.yopriceville.com
I’ve been to a lot of writing events: conferences, Meetups, presentations, meetings and writing groups. That’s not counting podcasts, online classes, webinars, tweet chats, and Google+ hangouts. There are times, honestly, when I just…can’t…
But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I learned something from every one of them, even if it was something that didn’t reveal itself until later. That’s happened a lot: that I hear something but it doesn’t register until long after the event is over.
So for what it’s worth, here are five things I’ve picked up on improving your writing: Write. Yeah, I know: duh. But being busy is not the same thing as being active. Talking or thinking about writing is...
I’ve been to a lot of writing events: conferences, Meetups, presentations, meetings and writing groups. That’s not counting podcasts, online classes, webinars, tweet chats, and Google+ hangouts. There are times, honestly, when I just…can’t…
But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I learned something from every one of them, even if it was something that didn’t reveal itself until later. That’s happened a lot: that I hear something but it doesn’t register until long after the event is over.
So for what it’s worth, here are five things I’ve picked up on improving your writing: Write. Yeah, I know: duh. But being busy is not the same thing as being active. Talking or thinking about writing is...
A Long Time Ago and Yesterday
Sep 06, 2016 by Victoria Noe
That's how someone described 9/11 to me today: a long time ago and yesterday.
There are moments that are like that. They seem so long ago it's hard to summon specific memories. But at the same time, they feel like they just happened.
Instead of writing about it again, I decided to share this post from writer Damon DiMarco. I'd just read his book about 9/11 when I (almost literally) ran into him at Book Expo America in 2011. He graciously agreed to write this for my blog for the 10th anniversary. It still resonates today.
From One to Eleven: The Essence of Grief Bring them back, God, please bring them back. This is the essence of grief. Not the secret we shared with a...
There are moments that are like that. They seem so long ago it's hard to summon specific memories. But at the same time, they feel like they just happened.
Instead of writing about it again, I decided to share this post from writer Damon DiMarco. I'd just read his book about 9/11 when I (almost literally) ran into him at Book Expo America in 2011. He graciously agreed to write this for my blog for the 10th anniversary. It still resonates today.
From One to Eleven: The Essence of Grief Bring them back, God, please bring them back. This is the essence of grief. Not the secret we shared with a...
Memories of 9/11
Aug 30, 2016 by Victoria Noe
TauntonGazette.com
Fifteen years. It’s a long time, isn’t it?
It’s the time it takes to go from the labor/delivery room to sophomore year of high school.
Or from the start of the millennium to this year (Yes, I count from 2001, not 2000).
It’s hard for some of us to believe: 2016 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. But this year, as with every passing year, I realized just what that means: fewer and fewer people remember.
It means that if you’re a freshman in high school or younger, you weren’t alive then. It means if you’re a sophomore, junior or senior, you weren’t potty-trained. It means if you’re in college, you may have little...
Fifteen years. It’s a long time, isn’t it?
It’s the time it takes to go from the labor/delivery room to sophomore year of high school.
Or from the start of the millennium to this year (Yes, I count from 2001, not 2000).
It’s hard for some of us to believe: 2016 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. But this year, as with every passing year, I realized just what that means: fewer and fewer people remember.
It means that if you’re a freshman in high school or younger, you weren’t alive then. It means if you’re a sophomore, junior or senior, you weren’t potty-trained. It means if you’re in college, you may have little...
The Kindness of Strangers
Aug 23, 2016 by Victoria Noe
picturequotes.com
Writing is as solitary a profession as anyone can imagine: just you and your pen/paper/computer/typewriter. But no one, no matter how good they are, truly does it alone.
I knew when I started writing that I would have to ask for help. Normally, I like figuring things out on my own, but this was different. The publishing world was changing so fast that it was mind-numbing. It still is. So I risked looking stupid – though I was – and asked questions. A lot of questions. Sometimes I was embarrassed to ask but I did anyway (thank God for email so I didn’t have to look them in the eye).
I am constantly amazed by the willingness of...
Writing is as solitary a profession as anyone can imagine: just you and your pen/paper/computer/typewriter. But no one, no matter how good they are, truly does it alone.
I knew when I started writing that I would have to ask for help. Normally, I like figuring things out on my own, but this was different. The publishing world was changing so fast that it was mind-numbing. It still is. So I risked looking stupid – though I was – and asked questions. A lot of questions. Sometimes I was embarrassed to ask but I did anyway (thank God for email so I didn’t have to look them in the eye).
I am constantly amazed by the willingness of...
From Mentee to Mentor – How Did That Happen?
Aug 16, 2016 by Victoria Noe
David Baldacci, #WDC16 keynote speaker
Last weekend was my sixth Writer's Digest conference in New York (I also attended one in LA). This year, for the first time, there was a way for attendees to connect pre-conference.
The organizers set up a Facebook group accessible only to those who had registered for the intense three days. The moderators were able to share information on logistics (the end point of the Dominican Day parade in front of the hotel on Sunday meant traffic issues for those trying to leave town), dress codes, nearby restaurants, etc. Many if not most of those who posted were first-time attendees quietly – or not so quietly - panicking about the Pitch Slam. If you’ve...
Last weekend was my sixth Writer's Digest conference in New York (I also attended one in LA). This year, for the first time, there was a way for attendees to connect pre-conference.
The organizers set up a Facebook group accessible only to those who had registered for the intense three days. The moderators were able to share information on logistics (the end point of the Dominican Day parade in front of the hotel on Sunday meant traffic issues for those trying to leave town), dress codes, nearby restaurants, etc. Many if not most of those who posted were first-time attendees quietly – or not so quietly - panicking about the Pitch Slam. If you’ve...
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