The poetry of it all….

Most of my posts have been about fiction - but this one is a shot out to all the poets out there!

I have written many poems - MANY. I have a drawer full of them. Some are handwritten, some typed, some in cd and thumb drive forms. There's my thick portfolio from my college "creative poetry" class, a notebook that was started when I was about 10 or 11, another from what I label "the darker days" in high school. Again. Many!

I don't write as many poems these days, mostly because my head is lost in the clouds of fiction flying from the recesses of my mind. However, I still do write them - sometimes even to practice figurative language in a more free form environment.

(As for those who passed their literature classes years ago - figurative language uses figures of speech for impact and color. Alliterations simulate similar sounds in the sentence. (See what I did there, with the "s" sound?) Similes use the words "like" or "as" to compare things. (Ex: His breath smelled like the ocean had spit out its dead.) Metaphors serve a similar purpose, but without the use of "like" or "as." (Ex: He was a breath of fresh air.) Personification gives human qualities to something that isn't. (Ex: The tree reached towards the heavens, holding its leaves for the sky.) There are many more types of figurative language, but I will stop there.)

The use of poetry is an excellent tool for any writer to utilize when stuck in the muck and mire of the mundane. (Sorry, I just can't stop myself!) It helps remind us to bring color to our pages - even the most technical of dialogue can be spruced up with a touch of figurative language.

The Boy

Little tuff of light blonde hair,

He's only four years old,

But leaves his tired mother's side,

Ignoring what he's told.

Shamelessly and there to shock,

He wanders to the street,

And right before our very eyes,

Lets his pants fall to his feet!

The embarrassed mother runs to him,

As the crowd all laughs inside,

Her naughty little boy just runs,

With butt bare, he tries to hide.

But when she caught him in her arms,

Of that I won't forget,

She covered him with kisses,

Not saying what she might regret.

(An example of what popped onto a page when I had a writers block, years ago…this ties in, a bit, to writing the antics of children (previous blog post), I just imagined what an observer may have thought about a scene with my son and I. It worked, too - wrote me right into novel land!)

Writing what we know, and don't know...

"Write what you know." I can't remember how many people have said that - teachers in classes, authors, and the likes. I really did try to stay true to that…at least when I began writing.  (I suppose that is obvious from the previous post?) However, if we only "write what we know" - aren't we limited to characters that only do/say what we would (or those who we know personally enough to write as another voice)? What about subject matter? Also, to add another wrench into this pitiful pot, we would only be able to write how WE perceive life. So, how about the reactions and responses of other points of view? A left brain vs. right brain? An extrovert vs. introvert's take on a situation? Man vs. women? Let's face it - no two people are going to act or respond in the same way…most of the time.

Of course it is easier voicing off personal experiences, but what about writing a scene or subject matter in which you have no personal experience - nothing to pull from while penning?
Let's say you are a twenty-something year old writer who wants to base a novel during the Great Depression. Well, obviously, you didn't live it and neither did your parents. Maybe your grandparents did, though? So, how do  you go about making a believable story, set in a time in which you have no personal experience? Research! If one of those grandparents did live during that time period, talk to them about it. (Two for one with this - find out more about your family as a whole, that specific family member, and be inspired by the way the tell it- their voice. I guess that is a four for one when you add in getting the information that you need.) Biographies, primary sources (like newspapers from the time, interviews, etc.), and other sources (like government sites with statistics and information - on-line sites that end with  .edu, .gov, etc.), are all great places to start and gather more. Avoid movies and Hollywood glorified fiction - those are great at romancing eras, but not necessarily telling raw truths.

Bottom line - when writing what you don't know - be INTERESTED and INVESTED in it. If you don't do your homework, you can lose your credibility. There will always be a historian out there, picking apart the frayed edges of your fiction. Of course, that concerns the setting. When it comes to topics - subject matters that your book might hit on, but you know little about, do the same. Does one of your characters have a mother with Alzheimers and you know nothing about the disease? Find medical websites, forums where children of Alzhiemers patients discuss issues, etc. - KNOW it, don't guess it. Please, please, please don't guess! (An aside - I will not name the tv show, but I was watching a series once and one of the character's donated bone marrow for his son. Great dad! However, the same day the father donates, the kid gets the transplant and they both leave the hospital the next day. What?! Ooook - first off - donation/transplant usually don't happen at the same time. Secondly, pediatric bone marrow transplant patients are generally in the hospital a minimum of 45 days - sometimes as long as 6-8 months! The first 13 days before transplant are all about massive doses of chemotherapy and radiation to kill the patient's bone marrow before the transplant can even occur. So - I could keep preaching from this proverbial soap box, but will stop there. Obviously, this subject is more personal to me, so trivializing a bone marrow transplant got under my skin. But it wasn't just that - not with this specific situation or when I reading - it is that a writer clearly was not invested in being credible in their writing!)

A warning to writing what you don't know, though - it will take longer to complete a project, assuming that you want to be credible. In fact,  you may spend more time in research and digging than you do writing your book! I have an ongoing project that I am writing that covers the Western, Pacific, and Home fronts of WWII. The characters are based off combined individuals, most of which I am related to by either blood or love. However, since some of these people are no longer with us, I have had to spend hours combing through military logs, databases, translations, records, etc. I want to honor these people 100% by getting every possible detail correct. I spent 4 hours one afternoon locating which prisons and camps housed prisoners of war from the lower ranks of the Royal Yugoslavian Army, who also came from the Serbian area of the country. I wanted to discover which were near to Belsen Bergen the year that it was liberated and who liberated them. Needless to say, it took a lot of time to translate Serbian and Yugoslavian documents to finally find what I was looking for! BUT - it was worth it! I discovered where my beloved Chicko Bronko had been held, the unit he was with, and conditions that he suffered - all details that will be readily employed in that section of the book!

So - there you have it! Write what you know and research what you don't! You've got this!

The spark of creativity...

Back in the day, when bangs were sprayed two inches high, anything neon was the color of choice, faded blue jeans graced most lower bodies, and fanny packs weren't only for the elderly, I was hiding in my closet - pen and floral patterned journal in hand, writing out my deepest secrets. For a nine year old, these weren't exactly dark, more like how I snuck a call to my friend without asking my Mom or what boy I thought was a little cute. Pretty deep, huh? When I was ten, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocitic Leukemia while on vacation in Southern California. A month later, back in our hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, I was writing even more. Prednisone cheeks, a rapidly balding head, and poor immune system (not to mention many trips to Vanderbilt clinic for treatments and procedures) freed up lots of time to read and write. It was then that I penned my first short stories. Understandably, many of these had to do with kids who had cancer.


One of my longer short stories, Hope, was completed around the time that my Mom's best friend's father came for a visit - published author, Joseph Gilmore. I came to him one evening, hands trembling, holding my story's manuscript. He graciously read it and critiqued it for me that very night. I came across that copy while unpacking some boxes recently and the memories that evening came flooding back again. I highly doubt he ever knew the impact that our conversation had on me or how it would encourage me to keep writing. He told me I had talent! Whether or not he was just being nice to that bald little girl or truly meant it, I will never know. Still - I believed him and continued to pen things onto paper for all the years that followed.


One of my favorite "cancer" books was Erma Bomback's book: I want to grow hair, I want to grow up, and I want to go to Boise." It holds many stories and antics shared by kids with cancer of all kinds. It also inspired me to start writing some of my memories. I never knew what I would do with them, but they were therapeutic to write.


So, without further ado - here is one that I penned right after I turned twelve. (Note - I did clean up the spelling and grammar a bit and my writing style has changed a LOT since then, but I was twelve! :) )


 You Want Me to Swallow That??

After living a sheltered life of liquid antibiotics, liquid Tylenol, liquid decongestants, and basically liquid everything, one can only imagine how my eyes about popped out of their sockets when nurses brought in my first set of pills. All I could think of to say was, "You want me to swallow that?" I figured that either they were playing a really mean trick on me or else my sheltered liquid existence had presently come to a screeching halt. Sadly, it was the latter.

Apparently the extent of knowledge that nurses acquire goes beyond basic medicine, and includes dabbling in the art of creative pill-taking. When it became evident that I wasn't going to be able to swallow those pills, a nice solution was presented - ice cream! Actually, it was sherbet, to be exact. Slip those annoying little suckers into a spoon full of lime flavored goodness and down they glide. This concept worked great until Prednisone.

My dad called it the "pregnant zone," sort of like the twilight zone, only involving an unnaturally massive appetite. Prednisone causes one to become a regular eating machine. All I wanted to do was eat everything in sight! I suppose that was a good thing since we were told that if I didn't eat whenever I was hungry, I could have developed an ulcer. Our doctor told my family about a two-year old who had polished off a dozen hard boiled eggs and still wanted more! The flustered, and somewhat worried, mother called the doctor, wondering what to do. The doctor, completely not alarmed, asked if she had any more eggs. Since she did not, he suggested she make a run to the store!

Back to the sherbet...one of the many downsides of Prednisone (the drastic mood swings and weight gain wont be discussed here) was that it tasted terrible!!! Even if I swallowed it in one gulp, the taste of the pill merely touching my tongue was unbearable! My dear aunt, we will call her "Aunt L", provided a wonderful tip. She suggested coating the pill in butter, so it would glide down easier and not taste so bad. So, I bet you can guess what I did everyday at pill-taking-time. I would sit down with my glass of 7-up, a butter tub, and a handful of pills.

One day, I was doing my daily ritual of pill taking. I had buttered my pills and taken all of them, except the Prednisone. Well, unfortunately it was one of those dreaded days that I didn't swallow it fast enough. Gross! I made a fast run to the refrigerator and grabbed the first thing that I saw, the sweet pickle jar. I opened it up and took a big swig of the juice. As disgusting as it may sound, it took away the taste instantly! From then on, along with my glass of 7-up, butter tub, and pills, was a jar of pickle juice.

Chemotherapy experts know that not all pills are as small as others. Take Methotrexite, for instance - even though I had to take twelve of them in one sitting, they were so small that it didn't really matter. (I did, however, sing the chorus of "Mary had a little lamb" and other such juvenile tunes in between pills to "clear my passageway" for the next one. It was, of course, only pointless stalling.)

The first "big" pill that I had to take, which really wasn't all that large, I took in my initial hospital stay. It was the Colase pill - one of those red, gel-capped ones that are supposed to easily slide down. Well, in my pill-phobic mind, that pill was going to get in my mouth, turn sideways, block my throat, and make me choke to death! It didn't occur to me that I was in the hospital, the best place to choke. So, starting at 8pm, I held that pill, rolling it and squishing it, trying desperately to make it smaller. My dad was with me that night and was being extremely patient, waiting sitcom after sitcom for me to take it. After three hours, I still couldn't take that scary red gelcap. Eventually, I just wimped out, so they brought me in the liquid. "It has comes in liquid?" I wondered why they didn't just start with that option! You may think that would be a miniature glimpse of heaven to me, which is what I thought, as well - until I had a drop or two. Those drops of blue fire burned everything they touched. (One of my friends in the "clinic gang," which I will tell more about later, called it hot juice. No kidding!) The nurses improvised with a plan C. They poked a hole in the pill and drained its inside liquid into a large cup of chocolate ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and chocolate chips. Although it might sound tasty, it was awful!! A tip: Never put these types of medication into chocolate, it just isn't an efficient cover for the bad taste.

The saga of the Colase pill didn't end with that night. The following night, my grandmother stayed with me in the hospital and she helped talk me through taking it. It was a much easier task, since, for once, the liquid solutions were definitely not options! When I finally swallowed the monster, I was so excited that I nearly ripped my IV out in my plunge for the telephone. I had to tell mom and dad that I had swallowed that dang pill!


 
  

Hearts and Shamrocks (with little to do with writing)...

                   
                              

In the span of a month and 3 days, we have two holidays dedicated to Saints - the only two on the American calendar.

Hearts - February 14th - A day of celebrating St. Valentine's with overpriced flowers, chocolates, and Hallmark cards - that special day, set aside because of?? If I polled 100 random American's, how many would know anything more than, "It is named after some saint?" I had assumed he was some martyred man, who was canonized and made the patron saint of something to do with love, but wasn't sure, so...I looked up St. Valentine. Martyred, yes (beaten, stoned, then decapitated). Patron saint of love, yes (also of young people and happy marriages). However, there were two of them - both men named "Valentine" who were tortured and beheaded by Claudius II in Rome. Although there are stories about both, according to the catholic websites, there is little known of either. There are stories to justify the connections to love and marriages, but lack of proof. (Clarification - I am a curious historian, not a cynic. To set aside a day specifically to remember our love for one another is wonderful.)

A portrait of St. Valentine

Shamrocks - March 17th - A day of celebrating St. Patrick by wearing green, sporting shamrocks, and spotting lucky leprechauns while drinking green ale- that special day, set aside because of?? Again, I had the assumption that he was some martyred man, who was canonized and had something to do with the Irish, but I wasn't sure about the rest, so...I looked up St. Patrick. Martyred, nope (poverty and suffering yes, but no martyrdom). Patron saint of the Irish, yes. But he wasn't Irish - he was British, taken by raiders to be a slave in Ireland. So, why canonized? After he escaped and returned to Britain, he dreamed the Irish were calling him back. He became a priest and returned to Ireland, bringing Christianity to the people. The Shamrock? He used it to explain the Trinity to the people. That, I must say, it pretty cool!The green, the shamrock, the Irish...but the green ale and leprechauns? For that one, I am still lost.

A portrait of St. Patrick

Of the over 800 canonized saints of the Catholic church, St. Valentine and St. Patrick were the only two celebrated with American holidays? Why that is, however, is a question that I can not answer - yet. Happy Valentines, everyone!

Beginnings and endings...

So - what happens when your three-year-old American Bulldog breaks your charger, the computer is dead (read: you can't access those handy auto-saved passwords), and the kids keep bringing in viruses faster than the previous ones are exterminated? As my elongated absence may have tipped you off to that answer - no blogging! Alas - such is life. (On the upside, we are 4 days into a week without stitches, broken bones, emergency chiropractic visits, chipped teeth, and/or antibiotics! Go Roses!)


All that being said, I have been thinking about books - specifically their beginnings and endings.


I get obsessed about the order of a book - where to put what part to keep it interesting, but still make sense and flow. I tend to be drawn towards stories that are told, at least a little, out of order. Whether it flips from past to present to future or something completely different, like changing whose point of view is doing the telling - I prefer it. It is, most likely, this bias that inspires me to write in that fashion - making order out of the chaos. 


Prologues. I have yet not to include them - using snippets of something to come that grabs attention, answering questions posed in the first chapters of a book.  I fail to remember the name of the series that I loved as a teenager, but they always started with a prologue that occurred in the characters' distant future. It was like an answer to a question that I would inevitably have at the end of the book, something that brought a semblance of sense to the finale. (I suppose I should research the names of those books, for sake of my avidly reading 13year old daughter.)


Epilogues. I must say that I often use these, as well. They are like a beloved television show's series finale, set sometime after the end of the story, glimpses of what will be. They are closure. The same holds true to some books. Maybe the girl and the guy finally get it together at the end of a story, but what about their futures? Will they get married, have kids, stay together? Seriously, I want to know!


Points of View. To spice it up a bit - reading a novel that tells the same story, but from different points of view, is also appealing. If written in first person, the reader can only guess what other characters are thinking or feeling. However, if who the first person is changes through out the novel, that makes for an insightful difference! Even when written in third person, a change of focus is always refreshing.

Pet peeves of the pen…unbelievable resolutions...

"That is completely unbelievable!!" What?!?!

This is a plot related pet peeve of mine - writing oneself into a corner so tight that only an unbelievable resolution would dislodge it. When the only possible resolution is reliant on the supernatural or unrealistic scenario is the only way out, we have a problem!

"Surrounded by flames on all sides, billows of smoke clouding any possible helicopter rescue, I am going to die by fire in these woods." (Wait, that character is in the next part of the story - he can't die!) "Is that a ghost I see before me or an angel to mysteriously lead me through the half-mile of burning trees and underbrush?" (Or, even better) "Look, is that a horse I see, coming towards me - one that I might ride through the fire to safety?"

Ooookey! Instead of making the fire completely surround the character without a plausible way of escape, why not make the fire almost trap the character, leaving a clear point of exit? No, no, no - that wouldn't be dramatic enough - drama over realism. Blech!

I suppose that this type of pet peeve can't be applied to certain genres, though. Fairy tales and certain science fiction and fantasy stories are based off the unbelievable. Take Sleeping Beauty, for instance. In reality, there is no way that the entire kingdom would still be alive, let alone still looking as young as they once were after 100 years passes and the prince delivered the magical kiss. But, that is the beauty of a fairy tale. I exclude those from this rant and aim it primarily on stories based in realism, our reality. Take that same story and put it in the present, saying Aurora was in a coma. Setting aside the fact that no one has been kept in that state for 100 years, even if it were fifty years later when she awakes, she wouldn't be the same petite blonde that fell into it - she would have wrinkles and most likely gray hair, not to mention muscle atrophy!

With all that said - write reality…pen plausibility…create credibly, please!

I believe this all could have been avoided had the three bears, Mr. Green, and Mr. Red just told Mr. Blue to find another sock instead of merely suggesting he get something from the undergarment drawer!

(I meant to post this over a week ago - you know, when stockings and Christmas were still going on? But a house full of sick derailed that intention…big time! Happy New Year!)

Pet peeves of the pen…predictability...

Oh - the predictable pen, how I dislike thee!

Let me assure you, I am not suggesting that a book must be a mystery wrapped in a bewildering enigma. Starting a novel and knowing that it has a happy ending, for instance, probably creates more predictability. However, every scene, choice, and relationship along the way need not be. If I always know what will happen next, I lose interest in turning another page. Maybe it is because I prefer to be surprised, or at least desire books to need effort in solving the plot steps of the story! If I am led to believe that a plot is going in one direction, but deviates instead to another...I like it all the more. The "Whoa! I did NOT see that one coming," effect is appealing. (Unless it is unbelievable (another pet peeve I will be hitting on sooner than later), then I just feel like I have wasted the previous hours in the pages of nonsense!)

I believe the preference to being surprised is because life is full of them. When is life ever predictable? I highly doubt that you cleared your schedule in preparation for a week of bed rest the last time you got the flu. Or, reflecting on a previous post about writing kid antics, I would never have left my eldest create quietly in her bedroom after that day's nap had I known what would await me upon opening the door! So, when you write - please be creative and avoid the cliche and predictable choices for your characters, scenes, and plot! :)

Don't be like Mr. Blue, who kept putting his head in toilets - be it in a real one or the doll house's commode!

Pet peeves of the pen - the one dimensional villain...

As for today's pet peeve - the one dimensional villain rant, beginning now…

I am talking about the villains who are created to fully and wholly despise.  For clarification, I am not referring to the "bad" characters or even the horrible ones, those who perform the most heinous of deeds. I am talking about the villains who are completely devoid of anything other than evil - they are created to hate. At every bend in the road, they choose to proceed in ways that infuriate the reader/viewer. There is no reasoning behind their negative choices, no past events leading to their decisions or actions, and absolutely nothing that gives viewers/readers any reason to empathize with them. At. All. Perhaps a character isn't redeemable in the story, but all I am asking is to give us something to unveil their humanity, making them difficult to completely hate!

The flip side of this pet peeve is something that I truly admire in a writer - the ability to take a villain and humanize them to the point that I am conflicted about who I want to "win" in the story's scenario. When the hero prevails and I sympathize with the villain's loss, I know the author has created a very three dimensional character!

I have to admit - I don't create many "villains" in my stories. Most of this has to do with the protagonist being their own antagonist (character against self, for all of you who may not have had these terms reviewed via their middle schoolers in the recent years!). All the same, when I do write them, I try my best to sketch humanity behind their darkened eyes.

"Mr. Blue" - one of our mischievous Christmas nutcrackers - is considered to be the "villain" of the bunch, but with antics like getting stuck in the same tape he was using to secure his buddies to the wall…we can't help but feel a bit sorry for him when…

He ends up in Christmas jail!

Happy first of December!

Pet peeves of the pen (and stories, in general)…the never ending cycle of miscommunication

I have many pet peeves when it comes to stories. Whether found in screenplays or texts, certain elements of character, scene, plot, and such get under my skin, like scabies of the mind! To begin my somewhat lengthy list of pet peeves of the pen, I will start with the plot frustration of miscommunication!

Miscommunication (or lack of communication at all) leading to tragic misunderstanding is a personal irking of reality that truly aggravates me. Perhaps it is because a simple strand of questions or explanation can stitch up slow bleeders in relationships.  That personal pet peeve seeps a skeptical eye at about everything that  I read or watch.

Obviously there will be miscommunication and misunderstanding in every relationship - whether body language or verbal, it happens. It is when characters don't even try to resolve the lack of communication that bothers me most. (Even worse is when an entire plot revolves around a series of misunderstandings!) Instead of each character making rational decisions or asking needed questions, they are stuck in an elongated beginners' chess game of responses, each one acting off what the other does first. "When I saw Charlie having dinner with that woman, I just knew he was cheating on me! So, I decided to break it off with him." "I don't know why Jane called it quits. I guess I will just return this engagement ring I have in my pocket." "I saw Charlie at the jewelry store with an engagement ring! He is already going to propose to that woman?!" ...aaaaaand it keeps going - one misunderstanding leading to another utill I am so frustrated that I really don't care if Charlie and Jane every figure things out or are back together! Equally infuriating is when, suddenly, both decide to openly talk and the whole story is wrapped up with kisses and fireworks. Sigh. As I said - pet peeve! :)

What communication looks like - Sisters in the Sequoias style!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Unfortunately, I will have to substitute 2014's Thanksgiving picture of our family in place of new 2016 photograph. Instead of sitting around the table with eleven others, I am tucked into my bedroom recliner, blogging with you all! I will enjoy my turkey platter when my dear husband and kiddos return later this evening, but, for now, I am enjoying the peace and quiet that an empty home can provide.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, even as a child, when the gifts and extra week off of school used to be the big bonuses for kids to claim Christmas! Each year, my family would drive north to Ohio, from Tennessee or North Carolina, depending on where we were living that year. My extended family lived up in Ohio - aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. On Thanksgiving day, we would drive over to my Dad's parents' house to have the meal with whatever family could come. My little brother and I would play with cousins, inevitably getting into something we probably shouldn't have, and eating more sweets in that one day than we would have since the previous year!

All that being said - I associate Thanksgiving with being amongst family, the more the better. Yesterday, I was going to blog about pet peeves of the pen (which I still will do another day), but I just couldn't get past being sick for the holiday. Unable to swallow without pain, choking on tonsil stones and snot making their way down my throat, and sounding like a bass instead of soprano just was killing my Thanksgiving week buzz! Today, I woke up feeling even worse in the throat, but happier. Maybe it is the contagion of joy that is the day of Thanksgiving…although, the Florida sun and warmth through the shades certainly doesn't hurt! Trying to take that positive thinking to even further steps is the realization that it is impossible to over-eat when I can't swallow too much food to begin with, right?
I will stop being so stubborn and go to the dr. tomorrow, breaking my avid vows to stay off the streets on Black Friday!

Although this was the long way of saying something simple - Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Writing about the antics of children before penning a page...

Children - I have three of them…and the stories I could tell might serve as a type of birth control for all of you who have yet to start families! For anyone who already has children, some of the following might border on familiar.

It is said that boys make bigger and more disgusting messes than girls, but in our family, it isn't my son that has caused the most chaotic upheaval, but my daughters that do! For instance, my eldest, the artist. When she was a little less than two years of age, one of her masterpieces stunk…literally. After waking early from a morning nap, she was suspiciously quiet, but happy - so I continued cleaning my bathroom, instead of going in to check on her. Bad move! She had climbed out of her crib and decided to add to the artwork already in the room. Using the dark clumps her digestive track had created after waking, she proceeded to scoop out pieces and use them as brown finger paints - coloring pictures on the walls, furniture, and some toys. Imagine my amazement when I opened her door! First, I was greeted by the lovely aroma accompanying such creative artistry. Then, her happy face and "'ook, momma! I 'ainted deese!" If she hadn't have been so cute and proud of herself, I may have had a major meltdown right then and there.

My son did stay true to his gender, but not in such a gag-inducing way. After coming home from a playdate, I put on one of the kids favorite shows and ran upstairs to change my clothes. Apparently, a toddler can do an incredible amount of damage in a 7-10 minute window of time. When I stepped into the kitchen, my feet felt it - the wet. I looked to my left, where only my daughter still sat on the couch, eyes glued to the animated entertainment that I so wrongly assumed would keep them both occupied. Looking to the right, I saw him, a bowl in his hands, frozen like a statue in front of the fridge. At his feet was the kids' toilet chair insert, already overflowing with water. "What are you doing?!" "Ummmmm. Don't ask me dat!" "Why is the floor all wet?" (Mind you, I was at least 6 feet away from him.) "Cause I made it," he said, proudly. "Why in the world would you want to make the floor wet?!" "Cause I going swimming!!" Sigh. "See, I get water here, den I put water dare, den I make a pool!" Yes, he got water out of the fridge via a bowl, then dumped it into the toilet insert, and, once full, onto the floor. I later found out that desk was also wet and puzzle pieces were floating in the drawers! At least the mess was made entirely from water…unless there was something in the toilet bowl insert before he started…oh dear!

SO - what does any of this have to do with writing, you might ask. These antics and literally hundreds more are all written into a book that I keep of "kid-isms." There are some, like the above, that I am most likely to never forget, but others fall through the cracks of my memories, never to be remembered unless I write them down on paper. What I discovered, though, is that I found myself inspired to continue writing after penning them. Let's call it a brain stretching exercise before the big game of novel writing. If you are having a hard time getting started one day, give it a try. Write or type out something that happened that day. Set the stage, give it details, and tell the tale as if someone is reading it from one of your stories. You never know how simple (or catastrophic) events might boost your day's writing!

Merely conjecture...

My Great Aunt passed away a couple of days ago. Irony or not, I was working on a death scene for my second book…and it got me thinking more about writing these types of things and how they are merely conjecture. How do we describe something like dying with any accuracy when our present lives lack such an experience?

Yes, I am aware of people claiming they have died and been brought back to life by the marvels and miracles of science and faith. Barring their testimonies, the experience of death and writing about it is truly left to our imaginations - conjecture. Does sight become hazy and fade to darkness? Is it like a blink, one second light and the next blackness? What might a character feel, taste, see, and smell in those moments between life and death?

The vast and differing emotions accompanying losing someone are something that I have experienced, too much. Death is no stranger to me, as many friends in my life have died. However, most of these were from cancer - a slow, drawn out termination of life. (An aside to this, although I am most familiar with cancer related things, I have yet to write anything concerning it or dying from it. Perhaps it is just too sensitive and intimate of a topic to expose transparency?) Other friends and family have had quicker ends with little to no closure for themselves or those they leave behind. All that being said, writing from the perspective of someone who has labored on in the land of the living is something easily tapped into when penning a page. But the one who is gone? I can research near deaths, doctors' knowledge of various terminations, etc., but really, when writing about death, it is merely conjecture.

Having that second pair of eyes and ears...

There is something about another pair of eyes and ears that keeps my writing in check. 
Is a character fleshed out completely or is there some ambiguity that needs scrubbing? Is the story flowing well or is it difficult to follow and understand? Are there inconsistencies that should be addressed? All are needed validations that the world floating around in my head is what is being read...and that it makes sense. Let's face it. We see, hear, smell, feel, and taste every detail of the scene in the recesses of our mind, but there is a good chance that some of that didn't make it onto the page…and what if one of those omitted details is what loses our readers? 

So - to avoid all this, having someone else is crucial to the writing process! This person shouldn't be someone that pats you on the back and showers you with the accolades of praise you undoubtedly want to hear. "Wow, that was awesome!" isn't exactly constructive. ;) They need to be someone who is willing to be honest and give you the raw criticisms you require in order to churn out a polished story. A close friend or family member aren't usually suitable matches for this, unless they write and feel the same. If we are honest, our work is very much a part of us and negative comments are more likely to be taken personally when it comes to close friends and family. Also, equally important, this person should be as excited about what you are writing as you are. There is a contagious motivation to keep pushing through the rougher spots when someone is waiting to read what happens next, willing to give you constructive feedback, and is excited to discover what you will do with it and where the story will go. :)

I had an invaluable "reader" when writing my first book. Unlike the advice I have just given, I used a close friend. (This truth makes me want to erase the previous paragraph; however, this person is the only exception that has actually worked out well for me. Believe me when I say it is a rare exception, though. This person is also a writer, though - so, considering I did place that clause, I suppose I will leave in the previous paragraph!)  I am not sure that I would have finished writing it without this person, whose contagious motivation pushed me through many a tough spot,  and am incredibly grateful for all their thoughts, incite, and honesty. (I refrain from giving a name here because they have requested to remain anonymous.) 

So, find that other pair of eyes and ears. Even if the only relationship you have with them is the writer/reader one, this resource is invaluable! There are websites and author groups available to help pair you with another writer of your genre and on-line forums to discuss work, as well. However, you do it - do it! You most definitely do not want the first critically eyed person that reads your work to be the agent you are trying to find!

(*Image copied from Julie Fain Art, all rights reserved to her.)

Getting to know my characters...

Getting to know your characters?! I tried to explain this concept to someone who is avid reader, but dislikes writing. If you are the author, the one sketching onto paper the images and personalities of the people driving the plot, how do the characters reveal themselves to you? Didn't you create them?! Well…yes and no.

Yet another stumbling block (wow, did I have a lot of those!) to my previous writings was thinking that I had to know everything about a character - from the personality traits, faults, weaknesses, strengths, passions, and dreams to each physical detail - before penning the first words onto a page. Anything that defined them, I thought I had to know before I could start - how else would I accurately portray them, right? I was very wrong, in more than one way!

First of all, it was one of many reasons that I would lose interest in writing a story. If I already knew everything about them, then I was just doing the tedious task of putting to paper what was completed in my head - more like typing a book I had already written, just doing it in a different font. Secondly, even though I should know myself best, I don't truly know what I will do and how I will respond to a specific scenario of life. I might think that I do, but I don't. I also don't know, with definite absolution, what a character will do when a scene is actually written. If responding in one way goes against everything they are, then I have, essentially, written myself into a corner! For example, this may be a minor detail, but I once assumed a character to be very neat and organized in every aspect of her life. At one point in the book, however, I realized that she kept her work clean and structured, but kept her home in neglected chaos!

All that being said, I do find having the general shape of a character necessary, but the details of their essence is revealed more as I write. As the story takes shape, I discover whether or not a character will stay composed after learning about the death of a loved one or scream in denial. Discovering these things as I write definitely makes things more interesting for me, as well!

One essential that I do seem to need is the appearance of a character. However shallow that might seem - I want to know the color of their eyes and hair, their skin tone, their build, whether they slouch or sit up straight, etc... while still unsure whether they will blush or pale to a suggestive comment - it is the truth. Having that image to conjure, for my mind to drift to while writing a scene, does aid in bringing the added dimension of depth and detail to the words and actions I put to the page.

Every writer is different, though. I would imagine that many might need to have a much stronger structure for their characters before getting into the grit of their stories…and, being in real life I appreciate structure so much, I am surprised that this never worked for me. But…it just didn't! Go with what works for you. Remember, your characters and their actions are what drives your story into (or out of) existence!

Getting past the back cover...

I will have to admit - I just don't get a chance to frequent book stores like I used to do (or still want to do). Sadly, vendors aren't open during my middle-of-the-night free hours. Ahhh, the days of getting lost in the aisles for hours. For the sake of this blog, let's all "go there" together...

You are perusing the shelves of your favorite bookstore, looking for something new to read. Passing the piles of "best sellers" and into the land of the now obscure, you search. Maybe its the color that catches your eye or a title that lures you closer? Pulling the book from its shelf, you flip it over and read the back. Unfortunately, there are only reviews of how wonderful the book is, but little to nothing about the story inside. The first inside flap is only about the author. Still willing to give it a chance, you decide to turn to the first chapter and read, at least, the first paragraph before returning it to its resting place.

If you are anything like me, this is the deal maker or breaker - what I read on that first page will either make me flip further or put it back. Dull or slow beginnings just aren't palatable. If I am immediately pulled into the novel, I will probably opt to buy it. (If I sink to the floor to read more, forgoing all concerns for cleanliness, I will definitely be buying it!)

The preference of getting sucked into a story is most likely why I love to read and write prologues. Stealing a scene that is, most likely, set somewhere in the middle or even end of the book, I place them at the beginning. I have to ask myself, would I be captivated by the first paragraph of the first chapter (or prologue) of my own story or would I put it back on a shelf to collect dust?
For example:

           Owen Everett was a handsome man. Evie had thought so from their first accidental meeting at the college bakery. They married the week after graduation, too excited to wait any longer to begin their life together. His parents raised the objections of their age and the one-year relationship, but Owen and Evie were confident of their chosen path. 

Bla bla bla bla. Sorry, shelving this one…

OR
      
       Tears blurred the forest's trees and bushes as she ran through them with all the speed her weary legs could offer. Thorns scraped flesh from her limbs and went as unnoticed as the evening's dropping temperature. Only when her feet would move her no further and the thundering in her chest threatened explosion did she stop. Shaking, she gasped for air and screamed into the deserted woods. "No!"

Hm…this one may have some potential. Who is "she" and what or who is she running from in the woods?

You already know which book I might be buying, but which story-starting paragraph would cause you to consider carrying it up to the cashier?