The Vacation That Pays...

Yep, I was absent last Monday but again, I have a good excuse.

Oak Island, NC. Alas, too cold for a swim, but we saw dolphins! 

I was on vacation.

I was spending quality time with the 'rents.

As my parents age, I feel an almost desperate drive to see as much of them as I can, to spend time with them. And that means sacrificing writing time.

As a writer, I struggle with abandoning my writing for 8 days, but as a daughter, I say, "Screw that, I can write day and night when I get home."

And that's the way it will be this week.

But there was an advantage to getting away from writing. I relaxed, did some fun things, shared secrets with my mom.... and resolved a plot issue for a rough draft I'm working on. I'd written it years ago and put is aside when I realized there was a plot issue- one that wound its way allllll through the book.

Now? Not a prob.

That's a vacation worth having.

Now I'm back to the grindstone. Plotting, planning, purging, and preparing.

Keep writing, or doing whatever your passion is,

Char

Reality vs. Fantasy

The fantasy was to complete everything on my list for January. The items on my list were:

1. Do the critique for my group.
2. Do two revisions for Sirenz 3: A New Trend.
3. Revise my Island Girl manuscript.
4. Outline the third book in my twisted classics series.
5. Outline a new romance.
6. Set up some advertising for the Evolution Revolution series.

I knew it was ambitious, and I didn't really expect to get everything done. 

The reality: I didn't even get half done. But to be fair, I got other things done.

This is what I accomplished in my writing:

1. The critique for my group.
2. One revision for Sirenz 3.
3. Made notes for a 4th book in the Evolution Revolution series.

Here's what I accomplished elsewhere:

Um... 

1. Time with family and friends.
2. Resting up after the holidays.
3. Cleaning up after the holidays.

I know, not very impressive. And I won't finish the list in February either. (But I have a good excuse! Actually, several.) I hosted a Super Bowl party, with my mom I cleaned out and organized every closet and most of the drawers in the house (except for my sons', they can do their own), I spent a week at my parent's house, helping with my stepdad who had knee replacement surgery, and worked on preparing my sci fi for my agent to send on submission (which required a great deal of swearing at Microsoft for glitches). 

Phew!

There are still a few days left, but I'm working on another manuscript revision (my Faery tale) so it can get sent out. I've booked two book events, wrote a few blogs, and did some book research. 

Sometimes, a list is a good reminder, and other times it's a pain in the butt because it shows how much I haven't accomplished. But, as my example above showed, tasks get accomplished which aren't on the list. And most importantly, some things take priority- like taking care of family, spending quality time with them, and sometimes, just getting away from the grind of writing to do mundane things to give the brain a break. 

So what I didn't accomplish in January and February will go on the list of To Do for March, no doubt with several other tasks added onto the list. And I know I won't get them all done (I still foolishly hope I will, but I'm not holding my breath or taking bets that I will.) I've learned not to get frustrated (well, mostly). Eventually everything gets done. As the saying goes, "Don't sweat the small stuff." 

Photo courtesy of Pixaby

And I can be happy all my closets look this neat. :) 

Char

Don't Ban This Book

Maybe I should save this post for Banned Books Week, but it crossed my mind the other night-and I needed a post (yep, it's late).

I don't believe in banning books, but I believe parents need to be part of the discussion with controversial books. Read them with your kids and discuss. The world is more scary than any book.

Most times I don't understand why some books are banned. Take for instance the perennially banned book, Huckleberry Finn. It isn't among my faves, but not because of its use of that word- nigger. I hate that word and personally believe it should be eliminated from the English language, but I don't think that should doom this book. The word was commonly used then. Yes, it's a bad word, but scrapping a literary treasure isn't the answer. Reading the book, understanding the context, and discussing why the book is still relevant is the answer. Huckleberry Finn is a not a reflection of a perfect world- show me a book that is. No one disagrees that some of the language and attitudes are racist and I don't believe that is the point. Nor is the book a simple adventure story. It goes deeper than that.

The Twain Library in Virginia acknowledges that "it was condemned by many reviewers in MT's time as coarse and by many commentators in our time as racist." That, I don't believe, has changed. However, The Atlanta Constitution, in May, 1886, noted that Huckleberry Finn "...presents an almost artistically perfect picture of the life and character in the southwest, and it will be equally valuable to the historian and to the student of sociology. Its humor, which is genuine and never-failing, is relieved by little pathetic touches here and there that vouch for its literary value."

There are further reviews on the Twain Library website both in support and condemnation of Twain's novel. You can read them here: http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/huckfinn/huchompg.html.

My point is this; every art has its critics and its admirers. Shoving aside, hiding, or banning a work does not make it go away. If anything, it has the opposite effect; it brings the piece to light. Although that attention may be short lived, I believe it's best to make the book widely available. Once you open its covers to the words and meanings inside, open your mind past narrow criticisms.


                             


Char