"The Voice" for writers and why I'm so crazy trying to finish my Christmas Story

Thanksgiving is next week...then Christmas...and I got the crazy idea of writing a Christmas story of the heart...so here I am scrambling to finish it asap and get it up on Amazon...(more info below on my story!)

For today's post, I had to write about a new show premiering in Italy.

The Voice for writers, I call it.

Bookstore in Venice, Italy

Italy has tons of bookstores--on my last trip to Venice, I counted five bookstores all within walking distance from my hotel near the Piazza San Marco. So it's no surprise Italy will have its own version of The Voice--only this voice is the writer's voice...as in finding new authors.

Mama mia!

This engaging post in The Guardian by Jonny Geller and Jonathan Myerson gives an interesting take on the soon-to-be-aired show, lamenting how British TV has no book shows on the air, but is this the right approach to nurture talent? Definitely worth a read.

We all know writing is hard work, a craft if you will, that takes years to nurture. God knows I'm in editing hell doing a word-by-word edit on my 35,000+ novella for the holidays: "A Soldier's Italian

Cover Design by Ramona Lockwood

Christmas," a story I've wanted to write about a soldier and a nun who discover forbidden love in war torn Italy during the winter of 1943).

I struggle with every word, every emotion and since it's a historical, every fact--where did the Allies land? What did a nun's habit look like in 1943? I want to make it as good as I can. Re: reality TV--can a writer convince a panel of judges they can do that in five minutes?

Seems it's not as crazy as it sounds. When I wrote kids' and daytime TV, all I had was the pitch. You'd take a meeting with a producer/story editor, pitch your ideas (the magic number was four) and do a song and dance, convincing them you knew what you were doing. Throwing out dialogue, jumping up and down, doing sound effects, etc. Of course, you had a sample script to back you up or previous credits. If they liked your concept, the producer/story editor would add to the story and you were in!

I'll be curious to see how this plays out and whether or not we get our own TV reality book show here in the US. But nothing can ever replace that special moment when you're sitting at your computer and suddenly the story comes alive and you can't type fast enough.

It's the magic that makes the elephant fly...


Happy Thanksgiving next week!!