When Margay Leah Justice from Moonlight, Lace, and Mayhem invited me to be a guest, she said, “November is going to reflect the themes of gratitude in honor of Thanksgiving, so if you can work up a post along those lines that ties to you as a writer and/or the theme of your book, that would be great, especially if you could tie the two together.”
Of all the topics I’ve discussed during my blog tour, this one gave me the most difficulty. I have plenty to be thankful for, it’s just that I couldn’t think of a single original idea. So, what did I do? I did what I always do when I have a writing problem to work through — I blogged about it. A couple of days ago, I posted this note:
I’ve agreed to write an article about giving thanks, and I have no idea what to say. I am thankful for many things — for my online friends, for my fans (odd to think I actually have fans!), for my publisher who understands my books even better than I do — and yet it’s not the sort of article I would want to read, so I’m looking for a different angle — a hook — and not finding it.
The wonderfully generous and supportive A. F. Stewart commented: I’m thankful for art, nature, Hugh Jackman, that I have an almost zero chance of being eaten by a shark or velociraptor.
My good friend Joylene Nowell Butler commented: Giving thanks for literary critics. What would our little corner of the world be like if we weren’t aware of some literary critic ready to pounce on our books and scream bloody murder that we wrote a disgusting book! Makes me pay attention to every tee and every I.
Susan Helene Gottfried, who maintains the incredible Win a Book site, commented: turn the topic on its head. When did you FAIL to be thankful? How did that teach you the value of giving thanks?
Great ideas, all of them, but Ms. Stewart’s comment gave me my hook. I am thankful I have almost zero chance of being eaten by a velociraptor, but my hero in my poor stalled work-in-progress is in such a danger. (Or he would be if I knew what a velociraptor was.) So, here is my hook: I am grateful that I am not a character in one of my books!
I am also grateful for my blog readers. They never fail to offer support and suggestions, and they are not afraid to let me know when I am wrong.
Thank you.
You can find today’s blog tour stop here: Grateful to be an Author
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Bertram's Blog 
November 12, 2009 at 2:27 pm
If you want to know what a velociraptor is I suggest you read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Then you’ll know why I’m thankful I can’t be eaten by one.
November 12, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I’m probably going to have nightmares tonight. But I’m looking forward to your post, Pat. Can’t wait, in fact.