MMWUC for August 13, 2007

EXERCISE: Two soon-to-be famous authors, Donna (Shakespeare's inspiration) and Deidra (Marlowe's muse) strut up the center aisle of the classroom, dragging Will Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe--both sour faced--behind them like reluctant observers to an upcoming gladiatorial fight. Will is rail thin, a ghost of his former self; Marlowe's fingers drip translucent blood, ink, and booze. D-squared say in harmony to the assembled writers:

"Close your eyes tight like the night drawing nigh,
Catch your characters in loving embrace.
Release a held breath like a baby's sigh,
For ten minutes, write, 'The fool kissed her face...'"
"...and from the antagonist's P-O-V."
The instruction comes from a single voice.
"No, from the protagonist's P-O-V."
Comes the command for the opposite choice
As Diedra shouts, "Antagonist! I say."
Students place bets on the winner's name.
But Donna glares. "Protagonist! Today."
Smart writers capture words for later fame.

Willy groans. "We shall never be parted."
Chris: "Bloody sonnets. Let's go get wasted."

MUSINGS: Okay, this exercise (yes, there is an exercise buried in the sonnet) is an updated version of one I wrote a long time ago. I'd love to see D-squared's books come out in a matched set. That would really make the gloves come off in the respective Shakespeare and Marlowe camps. They could go on a book tour scripted like a WWF match. On some nights, the sheer weight of Shakespeare's writings would crush Deidra like a body slam from the Incredible Hulk. On other nights, Marlowe's wicked jabs would slice up Donna like Errol Flynn doing the Sheriff of Nottingham. They're still dotting I's and crossing t's in their respective tomes, but in today's publishing game, it's never too early to think about the marketing angles to produce a real winner. "And in this corner...."

Win a prize at Susan Goodwill's site, author of the Kate London mystery series. Ah, marketing.

Okay, what's in your wallet, er, marketing plan?