Publish: Setting

Hi folks, I'm starting a series that will last for the summer. It's called Publish and is in conjunction with my TEENSPublish workshop at the Ringer Library in College Station, Texas. This is the fourth week and I'm covering setting. I think some of this will relate to any creative life.

One piece of the publishing puzzle is an authentic setting. The tribe attacked setting this week with fever.  Setting is about perception. It is the creation of the exterior world within a novel or short story. Setting is the sensory experience of a story. The best stories understand the importance of sensory experience. 

The first exercise we tackled this week was the bird's eye view.  Crayons and pencils were passed out; and the students were happy to take flight in their imagination and draw the bird's eye view of the setting in the first scene of their stories. This exercise is important because it forces the creator to go beyond the four walls. Is a nightingale singing outside the room of the house?  Is the wind picking up outside and whistling in the cracks?  Is there a rose arbor outside the window? Are ninjas hiding outside the window? The bird's eye perspective can enrich a scene.

Next we explored how language truly affects our setting.  Word choice is important when creating the mood of a scene.  We described our scenes with hard consonants with long vowels and then with soft consonants and short vowels.  The meanings of the words were similar but the scene changed with careful word choice. The upshot of this exercise? There is a poetic element to setting that must be addressed. 

Last we watched a video on world building.  Some of the tribe must invent partial or whole worlds to write inventive stories. This video is a good place to get started with is here.   To me what is important about world building is limiting what is different from the real world. What we love about other worlds is how they remind of us home.  You may travel to the far reaches but what resonates is when you meet someone from your hometown or you find out the banana pudding is just like home.  It's what brings us together that is important, not what separates us.  Good advice for world building and life, too, I think. 

I hope that you think about setting this week as you create master works. I research the settings of my books. Here is a public board on Pinterest for the setting of my book PLUMB CRAZY.  You might find this informative.  Click on the link in the side bar if you want to know more about the book.

Hope you create master works this week.  Next week we will take a break from the nuts and bolts and sneak in a contemplative blog about the universe, creativeness, and such. See you then.


Here is a art.

And finally a quote for your pocket. 

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. Abraham Lincoln.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Publish: Characters

Hi folks, I'm starting a series that will last for the summer. It's called Publish and is in conjunction with my TEENSPublish workshop at the Ringer Library in College Station, Texas. This second week I'm covering characters. I think some of this will relate to any creative life.

This week I introduced the tribe at Ringer Library to creating authentic characters. We started out with the daunting task of filling out a character profile. I really like this one  from Martinaboone.com.  Here is the link.  These things are just helpful to me. I don't start out with blue eyes and end up with brown. I know what my character likes and dislikes. I know if they get on with their siblings.

Next we moved on to character personality test. I like the Meyers-Briggs test and the Enneagram test. I know some of the questions go over the heads of us all, but these tests give a good read on personality type. You take the quiz not as yourself but as your character. The resulting character personality type helps you make decisions for your characters.

Next we had some play time. Each tribe member walked into the room and took their seat. The rest of the tribe offered descriptors of what they were seeing.  This little exercises helps the writer understand the proprioception of his or her character.The whole thing about five senses is not strictly true. We have many more.  Don't believe me?  Check here.  

Finally we had conversations as our characters.We sat in circles and discussed our story journeys as our characters.  It's an interesting thing to inhabit your character and is informative in a special way. The exercise forces you to do what your character does, think as your character does, feel as your character does. You must leave yourself behind. When writing, this helps you hold to your POV.

I hope our exercises help you create authentic characters. Always look beyond the surface and get down to the bones. Dig deeper and find the sour. This is the way to go.

I will be back next week with more of Publish. We have a journey ahead!

Now a doodle.

And finally a quote for your pocket.

I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become. C. G. Jung

Plumb Crazy May: Writing with Memories

Hi, folks! Welcome to the blog! This month I will be offering a series that shares some of the inside story of my book PLUMB CRAZY (Swoon Romance, June 2014).  Oh, it such a good feeling to launch a story into the world. This week I'm going to focus on writing with memories. Plumb Crazy was inspired by the events of my life, so why did I do that? Here's a little discussion that I hope you find helpful. 

Few people live interesting enough lives to support memoir, but your memories are extremely important. They are the best starting point for your fiction work. Caution: don't be too in love with your actual life or you won't write a very interesting story. Sort through your memories and pull out the stuff that hurt like the dickens, numbed you like a zombie, or set you on fire like a supernova. This is your gold. 


Writing with memories is a way to forge an emotional connection with readers. You will invent the exterior of the story, but not about the interior. That stuff comes from your soul. Your memories are the core to your storytelling, and  I think you should build a bank of them. Write at least 100 emotional memories from childhood. Also write your secrets, your shame, and your impossible dreams. Whatever has made you feel stuff is important. You need to get good at writing what you don't want to ever tell anyone. If you can't be honest with your own life, your characters won't be honest.

Once you have those memories written, crank them through your big imagination. This is how it works for me. I worked as a plumber's helper in high school. This is absolutely true. 100%. My character Elva Presley is also a plumber's helper in high school. Note, her name is much cooler than mine. She has her own journey. Gosh, she snags a lovely boyfriend, helps her grandmother's depression, saves goats, makes enough money for a car, posts her fanfic... I think I'm jealous of her. Yet in the core of her life, she learns the same thing I've learned. Everyone has value. She also has some issues with her family. I've had those too. We both come to the same conclusion: forgive and love. That is our truth. 

A good lie has gold nuggets of truth in it. That's why folks buy into the story. When you decide to write from memories, don't cling to the details, instead think about the emotion:  your joyous moments, your ultimate highs, your greatest fears, and, above all, the dark nights of your soul. Hide memories on every page of whatever you write. Your work will thank me. 

I will be back next week with more Plumb Crazy May. Please come back for more of this series. 

Here is a doodle to enjoy.  I love swooping wind. 

Here is a quote for your pocket. 

With each book I write, I become more and more convinced that the books have a life of their own, quite apart from me. Madeleine L'Engle 

Blooming: Setting

Hi, folks: I'm continuing my blog series Blooming, and I'm keeping with the list-y format. I'm offering pre-writing activities for setting this week. Authentic setting will make your stories pop!  I hope that something here helps you utilize place within your stories like it is a living breathing character. 

Travel -- One powerful way to create setting is to go there. Here is a link to Stephanie Meyer's trip to Forks, WA.   Take a camera, a notebook, a recorder and go crazy!  Don't  be shy. Talk to old timers, visit old houses, tromp through historical sites, and tiptoe through graveyards!

Shop -- I have more than one friend that shops for vintage photos on eBay. I also like to rummage around in antique shops. Remember a picture is worth a thousand words.

Maps -- I love Google Earth. Man, it is addictive. At Google Maps you can get directions to drive, take transit, walk or bike there. Very handy.  I also like Map Quest.  Here is a link to 3-D virtual room software.  I also am a pretty handy doodler and create maps for my fantasy and sci-fi worlds. If you don't doodle, try fantasy map making software like at ProFantasy Software.

Model -- Here is a link to Dollhousecity. You might want to but miniature set of furniture for a room. Here is a Wooden Dollhouse Set from Amazon. This can be handy if you have a fight scene and need to toss some furniture around.  Exactly how does a chair look that is tossed out a window? I mean you could really toss a chair out the window or ....

Archives -- Did you know almost all major cities have online photo archives?  Here are a couple to get you started.   Here is NYC Municipal Archives.  Here is a link to the City of Houston Gallery.  Newspapers also have photo archives.  Here is one to the Chicago Tribune. I am also a big fan of the digital collections at the Library of Congress.

If you are in doubt, Google it. 

I think following up with some of these pre-writing activities are a great way to build strong story bones.  I hope that you are moving forward with your project.

Here is this week's doodle:  "Dandelion".

Here is a quote for your pocket.

All the ideas in the universe can be described by words. Therefore, if you simply take all the words and rearrange them randomly enough times, you’re bound to hit upon at least a few great ideas eventually. Sausage donkey swallows flying guillotine, my love assembly line.
 Jarod Kintz

Reflections: What is your theme?

Hi folks, I'm wrapping up my month of reflecting on theme. I have found that everything you write is connected. Every writer is digging into some universal ideas or messages that are directly connected to her experience.

I went to a workshop with Bethany Hegedus, author and teacher, a few years ago and she convinced me that the magician behind the curtain (me) is the one holding the keys to my story. Her message: understand what you are about -- mind and soul -- and you will find your theme. I also got a big wake up call from Julia Cameron and her book Finding Water.  You must learn to say the things you never say. This takes an insane amount of bravery, and I am still working on in it. At the end of the day, you must discover what you are looking for.

What is the theme of your life? What makes you howl at the moon? What turns you red hot on fire? Think about that. Write down all the words that resonate with you. Some of mine: Wisdom, peace, forgiveness, laughter, disrespect, belittlement, mockery, frustration, heaven, hope, worth ... Try making a Wordle of all your words. Post that near where you work and let it simmer. Gather together your favorite stuff: music, movies, TV shows, books, artwork, shoes, whatev. Put your treasure trove in a pile and think about it.  Add to the list the words that come to you. What does all of this speak to you?  What are you circling? Strip away all that fluff on the outside. Go close to the bone and discover your theme.

I hope these little exercises help you  draw closer to the knowledge of your theme.  Next week, I will start April Showers -- a series to water you creative soul...see you then. Meanwhile, seize the day!

Here is a doodle: "Shepherd and his sheep"

A quote for your pocket.

The soul is in the very likeness of the divine, and immortal, and intelligible, and uniform, and indissoluble, and unchangeable; and the body is in the very likeness of the human, and mortal, and unintelligible, and multiform, and dissoluble, and changeable. Plato

Golden Advice: Close to the Bone of Your Characters

Hi, folks, I'm continuing my month long series on craft. This week I'm going to focus on authentic characters. I do believe that this is one of the hardest things to do. Mainly because it requires digging into the life of the most important character in your story, yourself.

You might have noticed by now that writers usually have a personal story lurking in the background of their work. Your own story shapes what you write whether you like it or not. I think a good way to figure out how to shake out the deepest secrets of your characters is to shake out your own.

This week involves a little writing exercise. Get a sheet of paper (yes, I know, old school) and write your list of burning secrets, yes, the stuff you have never told anyone. (You might want to torch this sheet when you are finished with the exercise.) One more task to complete. After writing your secrets, think about how you feel. Now write about that.

Now let's try the same thing with a character. Sink into the fullness of that character in your thoughts. Now write that characters deepest secrets from their point of view. Honesty and bravery will bring you close to the bone.

I don't want to neglect the artists that read this blog. Here's a little thought to take with you, too. Creative work is all about our choices. One of the biggest choices you can make to take the interior pain you have known and to turn it out as something bright and beautiful.

Take the emotional content of a negative experience in your life and let it transform your work. Get your mind around the complete feeling of how your felt in one of your worst moments. Now, go to the happiest moment in your current work and let that energy fuel the work.

Exactly how is this really supposed to go? Lean into a light airy palette though you are full of dark browns, blacks and purples. Reshaping the negative into the positive will bring you close to the bone of your art.

Hope something here helps. I hope you seize the day. See you next week for more of the golden advice series.

I call this week's doodle, "Figure in the Light."



This week's quote:
What is uttered from the heart alone, will win the hearts of others to your own. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Truth

Hello, friends, hope you had a creative week. I've been thinking a lot about honesty lately. Here is a thing I've learned -- if I am brave and write down the things that I'm afraid to write down, then I find that my writing stretches beyond me. Locked doors open inside me as I let the deep things I think live on the page. I find this whole bravery thing snowballs into my work. My vision clears. Writing what I think helps me. I see what is right and true. And if anything is wrong with what I am thinking that comes out to. Putting my thoughts on the page helps me get at heart of things.

I've also found all this honesty spills into my work. I am more willing to take risks. I don't feel the weight of censors or critics, and I get to the business of shaping my stories the way they want to be shaped. I'm able to make my way into the deepest water of understanding. Emily Dickinson wrote a little poem that sticks with me. "I never saw the moor. I never saw the sea. Yet know I how the heather looks and and what a wave must be. I never visited God, nor visited in heaven, but sure am I of the spot as if the chart were given." Her assurance of things unseen gives me boldness. Her truth changes me. I hope you are getting the sense of the absolute power of writing what needs to be written.

So this week, write down your secret, write down that thought you don't write down because you know it will offend others, write down your anger, your grief, write down something hidden. See what happens when you open wide the door of honesty. I'm just saying, try it. Seize the day. See you next week.

My doodle this week is a little collage. I call it "Sunrise".



The highest compact we can make with our fellow is - "Let there be truth between us two forevermore." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Serendipity

Hi folks, summer is sliding away and fall is moving in. I love the changing of the seasons. For one, it reminds me that no matter how much of a rut I'm in, I don't have to worry, I'll get out it. I just will. Seasons change. It's something to count on.

This week I've been thinking about serendipity. You can't make serendipity happen, but you can create a world where serendipity is more likely to happen. It's really about showing up. So many dream, but few make dreams happen. This is the work part of the equation. I honestly believe if you move forward with the work, serendipity will come after you. You step and the universe answers. If you you don't step, nothing is ever going to happen.

So this week ask yourself, what is my next step? I like to write things down. It makes things more concrete for me. Take that baby step. Get in the habit of taking the next step. You will come to big leaps. Take the leaps! Keep moving toward your goal and something you are not seeking is going to come after you, something good but unexpected. After the work, expect serendipity.

I hope you take the baby steps, the regular steps, and any leaps that come your way this week. Serendipity will follow, of this I am sure. See ya next week. Seize the day.

Doodle of the week. I love to doodle cute critters defying gravity. Love it! Here is: "Two Lynx Leap"



Serendipity is the art of making an unsought finding. Pek van Andel

Tough Week

The post is short this week. Oh, I had a rough week with no hot water, little sleep, and two four-hour drives to Houston and back -- I'm sooo tired.

I'm going to share a bit from a little writing exercise I did a few years back. I was asked to take a few minutes to write down the most obvious stuff in my world. The following is what was obvious to me, at least in that moment.

The Obvious

Pumpkin pie spice
Warmth from a fire.
Bath time.
Story time.
Sleeping in on Saturday morning.
Hot sun on my back at the beach.
Plain vanilla ice cream and pound cake.
Sunsets, rain showers and sunlight in the fall.
Teenage daughters, sons.
Puppies, first bowls of Cheerios.
Realizing you have eyelashes.
Knowing eyelashes have a name.
Attics are filled with pink pillows.
Everyone is like their mother.
We all bleed.
Everyone suffers just as much.
Time does heal all wounds.

Perhaps my thoughts have sparked something about the obvious in you. I hope this inspires you to write. I hope you add the obvious to your stories. Seize the day.


A recent painting, I'm calling it "Moon".



And finally a quote:

Don't be too clever for an audience. Make it obvious. Make the subtleties obvious also. Billy Wilder