To Boldly Go...

 Photo by Jens Johnsson from Pexels

In a new direction. 

(And yes, I know that's grammatically frowned on- split infinitives. It should be: Boldly, to go... or To go boldly.... Humor me).

First, I went to Home Depot and my library without a mask. I'm fully vaccinated and there weren't many people in the buildings. I felt like a rebel, or even one of those people who selfishly buck CDC guidelines. Even with relaxing guidelines, I still felt BOLD. 

My new writing direction is romances. I still have some sci fi, paranormal, young adult, new adult, and middle grade novels to be pubbed, but they are on a back burner for the time being. The reason for going with romance? It's one of the largest selling markets. Humans just love the idea of being in, falling in, and staying in love. That's reason enough to venture into this market. I'm as big a sap for a good love story as anyone. But another reason is there seems to be (so far) less politics. The companies that publish romances have such a broad base that there's room for everyone. I'm not saying that they shouldn't broaden their diversity- I'm just saying there's alot of room. And, it seems that so far (fingers crossed) celebrities are sticking to writing children's books. So while there are a LOT of romance authors, we don't have to worry about a celebrity stealing the spotlight and money that could benefit a number of authors for whom writing is their livelihood.

I'm hoping to hear from a publisher soon about the trilogy I've just finished. I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck.

In the meantime, wishing you all LOVE, in whatever form makes you happy-

Char

For the Love of Science Fiction

 Photo courtesy of Pexels, Inc.

Is anybody out there?

I love Sci Fi (science fiction); I write it, read it, and watch it on TV/movies. My dad worked at Grummas, building the Lunar Module which eventually took Neil Armstrong and the others to the moon and I was fascinated. Like anything else, choice is personal, but here are my fave Top 5 Sci Fi stories (not in order of preference):

1- The Martian (by Andy Weir). Matt Damon plays an astronaut stranded on Mars trying to survive while NASA works out a plan to save him. Great cast performances, the science is believable, the effects and characters sterling.

2- Indepdence Day (by Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich). Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, and Randy Quaid are hysterical and quirky in this story about alien ships invading Earth. The special effects and fast pace keep you glued to your seat.

3- Alien (by Dan O'Bannion and Ronald Shusett). Holy smokes, this movie about an alien invadingn a space freighter and hunting the crew gave me nightmares for a year. Sigourney Weaver was the unexpected hero and the special effects- i.e. the Alien- still make me shiver! 

4- The Empire Strikes Back (by George Lucas). Iconic for all time. Luke. Darth Vader. Leia. Han Solo. And the Droids. Everyone knows the story. If you don't love it, we can't be friends good.

5- The Matrix (authorship unclear- the Wachowskis or Sophia Stewart). While Keanu Reeves is fantastic in any movie he makes, I think the Matrix is his best work. The whole premise- that humans are 'power cells' for a giant hostile computer matrix is mind bending. I wish I could conceive something this brilliant. 

There are tons of others that I love- the first in the Dune series, Edge of Tomorrow, Terminator, Star Trek (2009), I, Robot- there are so many to love! 

And it makes me want to go write a sequel to my original sci fi- Lethal Dose. (I plan on doing that anyway....) 

Happy Reading and Reaching For the Stars! 

Char 

The Great Experiment...

Last summer, I had an idea for a sequel to a famous horror/sci fi classic. I didn't have enough of the story in my head, only the beginning and the end (which is usual for me), but hardly anything for the middle. I needed time. But I wanted to start the story. So I compromised with The Great Experiment.

I would hand write, old school like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Charlotte Bronte, the entire novel. Not even a typewriter (I do have one, but it's electric). Just a handful of #2 pencils and a lovely notebook that was gathering dust in a closet. (We writers do that- we collect journals and notebooks and then want to use them for something 'special-' not just for writing down the grocery or To Do list, Hence, we collect A LOT.)

So I spent hours poolside, or on the patio, curled up on the couch when it rained, in car rides to family visits- writing. A few sentences here, a couple of paragraphs there, and by the end of summer, I had a novel. The slow, more deliberate method worked for this book. Well, I got the novel roughly drafted. But would it be any good?

As I transcribe it, I see repetitions that popped up, probably because I couldn't remember everything I'd put in over the course of 3 months. But I'm seeing some beautiful sections that stun me. (Did I really write that??). Oh, the plot holes. The missing information. Ugh, the contradictions.

But that's part of any novel. I liked this approach because it made me more thoughtful, more deliberate in my writing. It seems like when writing these days we pound the keys in a fury, and promise we'll fix it when we review and revise. This novel will still need heavy editing and reworking, but I see so much I love. I think I am a better writer for having taken my time.

But I won't do this for every novel- I can't. There are too many stories cluttering up my head that need to get out and into the documents file. And this would NEVER work for #NaNoWriMo. But I think I will do this occasionally, so I slow down and enjoy the process instead of stressing out about how much I've written in a day, week, month, season, year. We all need to de-stress and enjoy moments.

Enjoy the moment-

Char

Fate Calling....?

(It's summer, I'm writing and revising several books and I have surgery coming up so I'm doing a short blog post. Sorry, you'll have to deal with it.)

Why can't I get an agent or an editor to call?

(Save the vitriol- I'm a registered Independent, and this was a robo call.)


Char

On the Flip Side-

It's been a tough week. In my church, we lost a long time member and friend. Another church friend lost her sister. Yet another's father was seriously sick. And then I landed in the hospital. A long scary story later, I'm getting better, but my stepdad is having knee replacement surgery and I'll be giving emotional and driving support to my mom. I'm stretched a little thin so this is my blog post for two weeks, unless I find time, energy, and motivation to post sooner.

Be good to yourself  because you mean a lot to others. And you deserve to be taken care of.

Photo by Ian Turnell from Pexels

See ya soon-

Char 

Pull Up a Chair, And Sit A While...

We all have a favorite chair. Maybe it's the big recliner you and the dogs can pile into on a cold night. Maybe it's the barstool at a local pub, surrounded by friends. My favorite is a lounger on a beach, under an umbrella, waves licking at my toes and a good book in my hand.

Least favorites would have to be the hard plastic one in the principal's office (whether parent or child), the dentist's pleather pit of misery, or the front seat of a VW bug (who is that short, anyway??).

This was my office chair:

As you can see it's suede, has a nice leather trim and nicely padded cushion. I added the wheels and shortened the legs because it's not really an office chair, but a dining one. It looked nice with my desk, and the height was just right.

Then I got a new desk.

The chair didn't work anymore.

It was too short, and reaching my arms up caused pain in my shoulders whenever I spent more than an hour in it working on my laptop.

So I started working on the couch. Too close to the TV, the cat, a comfy blanket.... And my productivity went down. Plus, I started getting neck pain from looking down at my laptop.

Time for a new chair. Before I bought one because it was a good deal, or because it was readily available to take home or before it looked good, I had to make sure it fit my needs. I measured the height of my desk, the height of space underneath where my long legs had to fit, and the width of the opening. Some chairs, those big executive ones, while they look really poofy and comfortable, were too wide and wouldn't fit under the desk, or even close enough to it (makes me wonder how anyone got any work done). Some had arm rests so long that prevented me from pulling the chair close enough. My arms would have been very tired after an hour of working. And really, does anyone use those rests? Some were too flat- I needed more back support if I was going to write longer than a blog post. I measured and sat in every chair in Staples. Finally I found a winner:

Yep, not much to look at, and there are no poofy cushions, but it fits all my specs, and unbelievably, is one of the most comfortable working chairs I've ever sat in. Short arms so I can be close to the desk. Adjustable height to fit my legs underneath. Adjustable back support. Quiet wheels. Mesh that has give and breathes.

     "The hard part of writing at all is sitting your ass down in a chair and writing..."
                                                       Jerry Pournelle, sci fi writer, essayist, journalist.

Sitting a lot is what writers do. We writers have a universal code- BIC which means Butt in Chair. It means working. Anyone serious about writing will do a LOT of sitting. Whether it's a Starbucks, the library, or your home, you've got to be comfortable so you're focused on putting down words, not fidgeting in your seat trying to relieve muscle pain.

Let me leave you with this thought:

     "It is the Chair in honor of all those who, however competently, embrace the impossible. Sit in
      that chair someday."                                               Robert Fulghum, author, Unitarian minister
   
 And yes, I'm sitting in my chair. We both have work to do.

Char

Fly Me to the Moon- No, Make That the Sun!

My dad worked in the space program during the Apollo missions. His love of science and exploration was passed down to me; I love thinking about new worlds and exploring the cosmos. One of my favorite images to focus on during meditation is floating through space, gazing at stars and galaxies and planets. And if I couldn't be an astronaut (that whole math thing), then I could pretend to be one. It's one reason I write sci fi and wrote articles on space.

And it's why I'm traveling to the sun with the Parker Solar Probe.

If you read the above 'ticket,' my name will be on a memory card on the Parker Solar Probe as it journeys to our sun, collects data and gets closer to a star than mankind has ever been. Yes, the probe will burn up once it gets too close- along with my name, but in spirit I've traveled the universe farther than I dreamed.

Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu

Besides it being so cool to have my name on there, it reminds me of my dad (he collected a number of memorabilia like Lunar Module tech manuals, pictures, design papers, etc. while he worked at Grumman during the Lunar Module construction which I have donated to the Smithsonian. The chances of me learning how to pilot a Lunar Module are less than zero, so those important papers belong in safekeeping.)

And, by connecting with and following NASA, I find out all kinds of interesting things, like how much satellite/rocket garbage is orbiting our Earth, what are the new pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope, where the next possible killer asteroid is, and if there are worlds close enough for humanity to someday seek refuge when our planet is dying. Good stuff for sci fi novels!

Here are some cool links if you're of a sci fi bent:

https://www.nasa.gov (missions, news, pictures and contests from NASA)

https://www.seti.org (search for extra-terrestrial intelligence)

http://hubblesite.org (pics and info from/about the Hubble Space Telescope)

http://chandra.harvard.edu (Info from the Chandra Observatory)

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html (info about the space station)

https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/signup.cfm  (tells you when the space station is flying overhead in your area!)

Spotting the space station going overhead is my next project (NJ always seems to be cloudy or the station is going over at some ungodly hour, but I will track it down!).

Space is limitless....


Char

I'm going to cheat a bit- I'm recovering from a stomach bug and I really need another nap so this is going to be easy and quick.

Photo courtesy of Pexels

I'm working on a new manuscript (my NaNo project) and these are the things I'm discovering about it:

1- I need to fill out the details. What time of day is it? What is the main character wearing? What shade of dingy is that white wall?

2- I figured out the element that runs through all three books (did I tell you it's a trilogy?) And it fits together sooo nicely.

3- For a time I was stumped about the third book- the hook that worked with the other two. (No, I'm not telling you because the idea is too new. Some things I don't share.) But, then, Eureka! I found it! I know where I'm going with the third book after this second one is done.

4- I know it's a great concept; a nice twist on something traditional, which will appeal to boys and girls, and it's a bit sci-fi, a bit fantasy, a bit contemporary. (No aliens, wizards, time travel, space craft, zombies, magic, or vampires, werewolves, or shapeshifters. What's left? Ah, that's the secret.)

5- Surprisingly, I'm hitting road blocks with editors and agents. Hmmmm. But, I believe in the concept and hope I can get it polished and contracted before someone else beats me to the finish line.

Next Monday will be a year-in-review as I look back on my successes and... unsuccesses.

Till then,

Wishing you Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Channukah, and a Happy New Year!

Char

No Emergency if You Prepare

It's that time. I'm not talking about hurricanes, blizzards, flooding, severe cold or wind. I'm talking about NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month). If you're serious, don't be a twit and wait until the last minute to prepare. Like those who wait until the storm is bashing down their door to do something, it's too late then. Do. The. Prep. Now.

Think

What will your novel be- science fiction? Historical? Contemporary? Paranormal? A combination? Get a good sense. You don't have to have the whole story in your head, but know how it will start, a few things that will happen in the middle, and how it will end. It may change, that's okay. When you have ideas to choose from, you'll be more confident and less likely to be stuck come writing day.

Do

Know where you will work. Choose one or two places that you can retreat to to write. Honestly, you can't write at the kitchen table when people pass through often, or are clamoring for breakfast or lunch or dinner. Or you have to clear up your stuff when they want to eat. Maybe your laptop in your car at a quiet park during the day, on your lunchbreak from work. Maybe the family room when everyone else is at school/work. If you can, prep the space. Have your thesaurus, research papers, notes, large coffee cup, and anything else you may need ready to go. You waste valuable time and effort trying to pull things together.

Research ahead of time. If you're writing a crime thriller, know police procedure. Sci f? Know what happens when you're ejected into space with a hole in your space suit (you can live for about 45 seconds. Really.) Historical? Better have the facts and timeline correct. Keep notes on your laptop or handy in a folder.

Have a NaNoWriMo calendar. November is a bitch of a month with Thanksgiving and for some of us, the start of the Christmas season. Maybe you have events or conferences you're going to and won't be home to work. Note this on the calendar and plan how you will work around this to stay on track. Since I have a family dinner on Thanksgiving, on one day I write double the amount (1,666 words is the general amount) so I have to do at least 3,340 to stay on track. You can also use your calendar to plot out the novel- maybe each day is one chapter, so on day 6 you have to kill someone off. It helps to remind you where to start up again and by looking at it ahead of time, the wheels of imagination can spin while you're cooking dinner or doing other things.

Jot down a rough outline. This will help with the continuity. I sometimes find it hard to stop and go- I just want to keep writing until the book is written. Unfortunately I have to eat, sleep, take care of the family, go to the dentist, etc. A rough outline helps me know where I'm heading. It's just rough, so don't stick to it if you have a better idea.

Commit to a group- whether it's the official group (go here) or a bunch of like minded friends and stick with it! Nothing makes a task easier than having support. If you're stuck, they can help you bounce ideas around, encourage you if you fall behind (not the end of the world, keep going, don't quit) and by encouraging them, you'll benefit from the energy.

Relax

It's not about having the perfect novel. Or even a good one. That will come later through editing and revising. It's about getting the novel written and into a routine of making time for your passion. Even if you don't finish the novel, if you're several hundred words away from the end, you're close! So you take a few extra days to finish- that's okay! You aren't breaking any rules. So chill. You can do this.

I'm doing NaNoWriMo and have already done one chapter (was stuck on a long car ride). I jotted down some notes. I need to stretch it to an outline. Gotta finish up some research. I have an office and with kids back in school, I have my routine set.

Let's do this together.

Char

Reduce, Reuse.... Just Recycle It.

Ask anyone who knows me well, especially my family, I'm all about recycling. I nag my mother to do more of it, I lecture my sons about what their world will be like if we all don't take better care of our earth and resources, and I remind everyone where the recycle bucket is.

I believe in recycling--and for more than cans and paper. When I was a greenie, just starting out on the publishing journey, a well-known agent at a conference said that if an agent didn't like a story, that's it, it was dead. 

DEAD???

A beloved child of my imagination? That I'd nurtured and developed and cried and sweated over to bring to maturity, to be buried and forgotten forever??

A bunch of us just looked at each other in horror. Any story we'd written had a good basis, Or we wouldn't have written it.

Yeah, well maybe the execution, the plot, the characters, the voice were all wrong.

Thus, the recycling bin.

And that's where I'm putting my beloved new adult sci fi, Lethal Dose. My agent tried to sell it, there seemed to be some interest, I made revisions (a lot), and I waited.

"New Adult sci fi market isn't there."

"Editor has left the imprint."

"Doesn't fit in."

Okaaaaaay.

I love the premise too much to let it go. I've gotten so much feedback on it and it sits in my head, taking permanent room. So, for NaNoWriMo, again I will be re-writing this book of my heart. My head is already churning with ideas and my agent has said okay, let's see what you do. My revisions:

1- Turn this into a young adult. It's a much bigger market and will give me more opportunities to submit.

2- Flip main characters Dalen and Adara- she becomes the lead (let's face it, more females read than males) and Dalen the chaser.

3- Re-imagine 80% of the plot. Some things have to change because of the above and because of what I removed (love scenes), but some need to remain because it supports the premise.

I'll be working on an outline and submit that to my agent. Hopefully we can smooth it out so it has a better chance of being accepted.

It's hard work washing out used cans and bottles, cutting up cardboard, tying up newspapers. But it's the prep that has to be done to yield results. There's too much value to just toss something away, and it goes against my Germanic thriftiness. It's the same with my writing; there's still value in this novel an I can't simply discard it.

While ideas for revisions simmer, I'll be working on the release of my middle grade, Evolution Revolution: Simple Machines. (Cover reveal Thursday!!!!)

Char

Weather or not....

The wind raged at the trees and flag pole that dared stand fast. Cans and bottles were cast onto the driveway like dice rolling down a craps table. The rain, not to be outdone, battered the cans and bottles like a jazz drummer, keeping an oddly rhythmic beat. In the background, thunder accompanied the composition, and lightning set the stage.

I wrote this after standing outside yesterday during the storm (safely under my porch). This reminder about the ferocity of storms left me awed. I may use this in a book or story someday. It may inspire a story of its own.

Weather is one of those things that may get overlooked in novels. We're busy focusing on characters and plots and setting but I find that weather is rarely mentioned other than a brief one line about how hot it is, how a storm shook the windows, or rain hitting the roof. Let your characters be more than inconvenienced by getting soaked, or shivering because it's snowing. In my sci-fi novel, Lethal Dose, my main characters Dalen and Adara pass by a planet with black lightning which of course screws up all communications and electronics. In my middle grade fantasy Evolution Revolution: Simple Machines (debuting September!), weather plays a big part in the story; the animals are safe for several more days when the construction machines sent to clear their woods are trapped in mud after a horrific storm. Snow adds more complications because tracks gives the animals' locations away.

If your story takes place in Seattle, where most of the time it's rainy (I could never live there), repeated references to rain and drizzle and mist would get tiresome. But in Twilight, Bella tells Edward her favorite color is brown (like his eyes, gag), but also because everything is so green from the constant precipitation. It's understandable that one would get sick of so much green and that comment says it all.

As Mark Twain said, "Everyone talks about the weather but no one does anything about it." So mind the weather! And let's see how it impacts your story, your character, your plot, your mood.

I'll be sitting poolside because the summer heat baked the sunflowers to perfection; they stood, a deep golden yellow, almost too perfect to behold.

Char

Creating Truthful Fiction

If you're novel tells me the green sun is shining brightly, I'll believe it- as long as the setting is a dream, an apocalyptic moment, an alternate universe, or an alien planet. Even fiction has to tell the truth if you want people to believe it. (Ever hear the saying 'Truth is stranger than fiction'?)

This is especially true in crime fiction. Oh, there are books out there that s--t--r--e--t--c--h the boundaries of believability and most of the time it's obvious. From my presentation at the NJ SCBWI annual conference, here are the tips I offered:

1. Read crime novels; get a feel for how they set up the crime, discovery, evidence and resolution, the pacing, the twists.

2. Look at crime scene photos in no-fiction accounts of crimes like Helter Skelter, Fatal Vision, and The Stranger Beside Me, the Story of Ted Bundy. Watch true crime specials on Discovery, Investigation Discovery, Smithsonian and American History channels.

3. Plan the crime from the start- from the first thought of the evil deed to the resolution (arrest/jail/death). You may not use all the info, but it will help you stay on track. Plus, you as the author, can't be as surprised as the rest of us when the perpetrator is revealed.

4. Use specific and numerous details. The smallest clues can lead to discovery of solving the case. While some clues like fingerprints do help solve crimes (if the fingerprints are in the fingerprint database), it's not always the case. Son of Sam was caught because of a parking ticket. No clue is too minute.

5. Be imaginative! Create clues, i.e. the single pink-blonde hair on Bec's computer in Blonde OPS. (Sorry, you'll have to read the book to find out what the deal is.)

6. Learn what doesn't work. A well-known author had a 16-year-old posing as an insurance agent. Hmmmm, that's a stretch, but let's go with it- makeup, wig, etc. The owner of a 15 carat priceless emerald asks said 'insurance agent' if she wants to hold the gem. This is waaaay too convenient for the story and what the 'agent' plans to do. No one in their mind would ask a stranger if they wanted to hold something of theirs that was so valuable it had no price. Then, said 'agent' drops the emerald in order to kick it away to steal it. That's called cheating to make the story go the way you want it. A crime scene cannot be written around what you want other characters to do unless the character has a routine, habit or gets into a situation created to elicit a specific response. Disabling a car so they would have to call a cab is perfectly legit; the 'he suddenly decided to leave the Rolls Royce and take a cab that evening' is a total cheat.

7. Get the facts RIGHT! If you drop a 15 carat emerald on a bare or hard floor, it will shatter; they are soft stones. Someone didn't check their facts or learn about emeralds. (I've cracked an emerald, this is how I know.)  Even in sci fi and fantasy, there are certain aspects that are always true, like the laws of physics. Cheating to help make it easy to write your story is not allowed.

8. You'll know you're doing the right research if you get a notification from the FBI, Homeland Security, etc. and they shut down your browser. Here's me showing the class my notification:

9. Don't be obvious! The butler can do it, but wouldn't you rather have a fresh suspect? Or at least a single, overlooked-by-others clue that points out the perp? And if we can guess too soon who the perp is, it means you've rushed the scene, cheated on red herrings and misdirection, or didn't give your readers credit for seeing through a thin plot. Unless you are writing a non-fic account that is straightforward and we already know who did it, keep it a mystery. Even then, it's a process filled with errors and presumptions until all the pieces are assemble. Ask any detective- until the end, you're not really sure. Here is my co-presenter, forensic crime scene detective Guy Olivieri demonstrating, based on a true case, how the clues didn't always seem to fit:

10. Learn basic police procedures and those specific to your city/state/country because laws vary. New Jersey is a state, Pennsylvania is a commonwealth; their justice systems/procedures might be very different.

11.  Your crime scene doesn't have to have happened in reality, but it has to be possible. Think of Mission: Impossible weapons or the car stealing scene by computer in Blonde OPS. Experts can help you put in enough details to make it believable, but not make you an accomplice.

Finally, some resources to think about:

*The library. You can get a lot off the internet, but don't be lazy. There are numerous books that might have the details you need--like a book of poisons and famous murder cases, the details of CSI work, etc. Your reference librarian is a goldmine. And they love a challenge. Plus, looking at a book in the library won't get you flagged like online searches can...

*Google Earth. Walk down the street, swim in the lake, look across the way via Google Earth. It allows you to get minute details that make your novel believable because someone will say, "I've been there, it looks just like you described!" Unless, of course, your editor will fly you to where ever your crime scene is to personally note the details.

*Your local, state, and federal government agencies. Chances are any governmental agency will have a public liaison or a PR officer to handle information requests. The best: get friendly to an actual cop or agent.

*Writer's Digest. This professional organization has a library of How To books: writing crime, mysteries, all about weapons, etc. And they are a reliable, verifiable source.

*University and college professors. Chances are you're not too far from a college. Those professors, associate professors love to share their knowledge (that's why they're teachers....). Glean what ever info you need from them (and it's always nice to thank them in your dedication/acknowledgment and also with a thank you email/letter.).

*Professional organizations. Sometimes they'll answer, sometimes not, but you should always try. Some you might need to be a member, but it may be easier than doing all the digging yourself:

 -Mystery Writers of America

 -American Bar Association

 -International Assoc of Crime Writers

 -Sisters in Crime

Don't overlook other orgs that fit the situation; if your character was a member of a club or group, like the American Medical Association, the Lions Club, or whatever, they can help you out.

Finally, no one not associated with a case should have access to the crime scene- Guy says this is so TV/Hollywood, so no "Murder She Wrote" because that just ain't happening.

See you soon- but hopefully not in a lineup-

Char 

Check In...

So how'd we do with our NoRevMo (Novel Revision Month)? The national revision month, for people part of NaNoWriMo community (National Novel Writing Month) is June- and I didn't want to wait that long. I know some of you didn't either.

Did you finish at least one round of revisions and edits for your novel? Great!
Did a good portion but didn't finish? Good!
Got thrown off the track by family/job/life? Don't sweat it- keep working, you'll get it done. Remember this was an arbitrary deadline.

How did I do?

My plan was to revise four novels; one each week. Before you go thinking I'm superwoman, remember, these novels have all been edited at least five times and I'm fine tuning for my agent to send out or the initial submission to my agent. (Editors will ask for more changes, you can bet on it.)

I finished 2 and a half. I finished my NA sci fi, Lethal Dose, which I hope goes back out on submission to editors. Then I revised and reworked my YA reincarnation story The Meaning of Time, which my agent hasn't seen yet (nor will she until I do another round; I feel something is missing...). I gave up on my MG sci fi (title in progress) because my agent and I can't seem to agree what's needed. Frustrated, and with a family emergency that pulled me out of state and the creative mood, I put it aside.

Am I disappointed I didn't get everything finished? A little. I like to get things done. But I'm also realistic; this was very ambitious to think of doing four books in one month. Plus, I have a workshop presentation to work on for the annual NJ Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator conference in early June. I'm setting up book signing/appearance events. I'm self-pubbing an MG adventure/semi-sci fi.

I also want to repaint our master suite, work in my meditation and other gardens, paint the pool deck, visit family in Italy, have parties, and enjoy my pool.

Will I get all of it done? Probably not. But I'm not crazy enough to think I will.

So if you haven't finished your edits/revisions, keep working. If you have, put your novel aside and take a break. Have lunch with friends. Go on a vacation. Write another story. Clean your house. In a week or so, go back to the novel, only this time (and this tip has been suggested by a number of other people, I can't take credit for it and I'm going to try it): change the font on your manuscript. The difference will force your eyes to see each word, rather than skip over the too-familiar previous type.

No criticisms, just cheers. Remember, maybe only one in a million people get published. Even if you're not there yet, just think of all those people who say "Someday I'll write a book..." and then never do. You're ahead of the game. Now keep going and beat the odds.

Char  
Picture courtesy of Microsoft/Bing

Why I'm Not Doing NaNoWriMo This Year...

The great people who run the National Novel Writing Month campaign send me reminders about Camp NaNoWriMo, which occurs in July for getting a novel started, or a middle grade or picture book written. It's intended to be a smaller scale than November's 50,000 words in 1 month challenge.

I'm not doing any of it.

The wonderful NaNoWriMo people and I haven't had a war of words, I'm not giving up writing to raise alpacas, and I'm not crossing a sea in a dingy with my cat. I still believe in NaNoWriMo, as most of my completed novels were products of that insanity. The NaNo challenge works for me- work like a hellish crazy person and write the novel in 30 days (yes, even Thanksgiving Day) and have the rest of the year to polish and perfect it.

So what's up?

I have several novels that I wrote, revised, and then put aside to work on other projects with my agent and editors. Needing my attention are a time travel novel spanning human civilization, a re-imagining of a Gothic classic, a paranormal-medical mystery, and a middle grade World War II historical. Plus I'm doing another revision on my sci fi NaNo project of two years ago which my agent has gotten interest in if  I make some changes. Plus a middle grade animal-science story is going out to a publisher and my agent thinks it would garner more interest as a series so I have to outline several more books to show where the first book will lead.

I have enough on my plate, don't you think?

I won't mention that we're having work done on the house, there are summer camps to drive the son to, and book signings for me, I want at least a 5 day vacation, and relatives may be coming for a visit. You know how busy summer gets, and then before you know it, it's September and the whole school routine starts again.

So for the first time in several years, I'm skipping NaNoWriMo, but I'm taking the skills and the get-it-done determination I've learned and applying it to those other projects. (I'm even skipping yoga this morning to finish my read through before the contractor gets here to start work.)

Maybe you have a manuscript or two that need a lot of attention. Or you don't feel up to writing a new novel during the frantic holidays. Skip writing a new one and use the companionship and camaraderie of this community to help you freshen and fix up that old manuscript sitting in the drawer- the one you still love, but which needs a ton of loving attention. Instead of posting words written, you could post words revised.

Whatever your writing goals, use NaNoWriMo to help you achieve it. Stay plugged in and energized.

Good luck!

Char

Between Breaks...

I've finished roughing out the (almost) total re-write of my sci fi (I got to keep the first 50 out of 380 pages).

This is what I want to do:

This is what I should do:

This is what I'll probably do:

I need more chai, more mulch, ice cream for lunch, book for the kid's summer reading, and I'm sure something else...

But it's good to get away from the desk, writing,

Oh yeah, and I need to trim the cat's butt fur. *Runs to car...

Char

I've Got Dirty Hands...

When my agent said to take out one component of my sci fi, Lethal Dose, I almost died. One small change affected 3/4 of the book. Removing it meant reworking everything after the first 1/4th.

I grumbled, I whined, I stormed out of the house.

Into the gardens.

I needed to completely rethink my story and I can't do that chained to the desk, trying to force it. My coping mechanism is my gardens. (In winter it's de-cluttering or house repair. Sometimes baking.) I was soooo frustrated with the changes she wanted, this is the result:

This is my meditation garden. Seems I didn't do so much meditation as I did murder. Weeds? I don't think so!

Then I moved on....

What was once a dumping ground for the wheelbarrow and all kinds of junk, I used flagstones from our old walkway, dug up the weeds, laid down mulch and a border, and used an old copper fire pit for a birdbath to make yet another garden. But was I done? Nope.

I added pots of flowers around the house, by the garage, in the front gardens, by the mailbox,

on the side of the shed,

added a small veggie garden by the pool fence,

updated the corner pool garden,

added some more herbs to the herb garden (and it still needs some work because those damn chives think they can just take over the place),

and this puppy in the front of the house is in for some serious cutting back and reorganizing. There will also be borders and mulch around the front yard trees.

But those last few will have to wait. I'm on a roll with the revisions (didn't want to take the time to do this blog, but gotta get all my To Do list accomplished and it's Monday after all). I have big plans for summer projects (both writing and house). Summer is when I feel most energized and now that I've 'weeded out' my demons on the sci fi revisions, I must return to the manuscript.

How do you exorcise your revision demons? Let me know because one day I'm going to be too old to do all this digging and planting and ripping up.

Good day, good writing, and good things!

Char

And That's My Life...

My agent just sent me a "if you revise your sci fi ms" email with suggestions that mean reworking the entire novel after the first few chapters. This is me:

But I'm going to do it. It's what real authors do; they revise and edit and revise again until it's right (although in my mind, I thought I had it right). I'm not happy or excited about the changes, and yes, it's my prerogative to refuse or try to self publish it as it is, but that's not how the deal works. My agent works hard to present my books to editors so it's only fair that I work just as hard (if not harder) to provide the best possible story (even if I don't happen to agree with all the changes). Life, and publishing are like that. (And if I hear my mother tell me one more time that Dr. Suess got over 50 rejections, I'm going to look like the above picture again.)

Editing, to me, is like cleaning the bathroom. There's the easy stuff, like hanging out fresh towels, it's a visual upgrade. In editing, the equivalent would be fixing the spelling, formatting and grammar mistakes- instantly noticeable (especially with Word using all those green and red squiggle lines). Rereading the manuscript and checking for awkward phrasing, lost story threads, having the character in the wrong place, etc. is like picking the dirty laundry off the floor, emptying the garbage, and putting away the hair brushes and beauty products. The read after that is when you scrub the sinks and tub- you're 'cleaning out' excess words, tightening the sentences, getting rid of what isn't necessary.

It's the last part I hate the most- scrubbing the toilet.

(With 4 males in the house, I know you have a good mental picture of my dilemma.) You have to flush away. It's like a favorite barrette, the one you love for pinning back your wild bangs, has fallen into the bowl. Do you flush it (i.e. send chunks of your manuscript down the pipes even though you love it) or do you man-up and stick your hand in the water and save your barrette? I've changed a lot of diapers so bowl water doesn't frighten me. (I've flushed manuscripts from the first sentence to rewrite the entire novel.) So, I'll save my barrette, the same way I'm going to save my manuscript and make the suggested changes. It's better to risk dirtying your hands to save something you truly love then to watch it swirl away into the septic tank of never-going-to-see-it (or, have it published).

Now, it's time to go flush a good chunk of my manuscript.

And that's my life...

 Char

Should Auld Resolutions Be Forgot...

Yep, this first post of the New Year is late. Maybe I should resolve to be more timely with my posts.

Nah.

I'm not making any resolutions this year because they're wimpy. A resolution is an "I'm going to try to..." kind of promise. It kind of lets you off the hook if you fail because it's only a 'going to try.' Instead, I'm making a 2015 To Do List. And if it's one thing about me and lists, it's that if it's on The List, I have to get it done. It may as well be inscribed in blood on my arm. So here's my

2015 To Do List:

Finish my middle grade novel and send to agent.

Do the revisions to my sci fi novel by the end of January.

Get on my bike as soon as it's tolerably warm.

Get out more- movies, theater, visiting, etc.

Not worry about what other people do, even if it's a loved one and it might not be a good move.

Keep desk clear because it's new and I'm more productive that way.

Learn how to debug my computer from  all the stupid adware.

Finish the rework/revisions on my other 3 novels that have promise.

Give more time to things that are important- meals for homeless, my Phi Nu fraternity gals, etc.

Avoid toxic and/or crazy people.

That's it, nothing fancy. I'd do most of these anyway, but if it's on The List it HAS to get done.

Wishing you, your families, and the world a better 2015...

Char

Alice... Lost in Space

Early this fall, Leap Books announced a call for YA short stories about Alice from Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland to celebrate the 150th anniversary of that children's classic. All stories had to feature Alice, with the White Rabbit as a protagonist in an anthology called BEWARE THE  LITTLE WHITE RABBIT.

I'm in!

My short story is called Alice Through the Wormhole and in it, a futuristic Alice speeds through the cosmos because the White Rabbit has taken something precious from her...

So imagine Alice like this- forget the pinafore, the patent leather shoes, and falling down the rabbit hole, this Alice is kickass and she'll chase that rabbit across the universe if she has to...

Stay tuned for more details!

Char
(pictures courtesy of NASA Hubble and WallpapersWA.com)

Namely, Cheating.

Not a very original title for a post about naming your characters. Plus, I've done posts where I've interviewed a number of YA authors (some VERY well known) about how they go about naming their characters. Some have complex rules about syllables in the first name than last, some mix and match sounds, some do research for cosmic significance, some go through the family tree, etc.

I'm too lazy. Plus, (shhh!  a secret here-) not everyone in the family deserves to be in one of my novels or the character with their name would tick them off because no one wants to be the bad guy/gal. Avoid using family names, it can only lead to trouble.

So I cheat. Rather, I like to call it Inspirational Smack. When I need a name for a main character, I watch a movie or TV show.

No, I don't steal famous names. I steal names from the credits. Really. Sometimes a name just jumps out at you and smacks me in virtual face, it's so perfect. I read the names that scroll after a show ends, and get an endless source of unusual, typical, ethnic, and cross cultural names. Watch the wide screen and let Hollywood do the work for you. It's like walking through Macy's and seeing the most perfect pair of shoes; out of all the others, one pair seems to shine, drawing your eye and you know it's the perfect choice. Plus, these are real people getting credit for working so you have a valid case when someone says "No one would name their child that!" Yes they do, and it's in black and white, out in cyberspace.

 And your character has been given an imaginary birth certificate with a legal name.

But don't stop there. Even if you have all your characters' names, you'll be writing more novels or stories, right? Start a list of names that just grab you. That's how I got the name for my main character in my sci fi, Lethal Dose. His name is Dalen. I saw the name in a book of baby names and knew that one day I'd need it for one of my works. It was on my list for several years and now has a body.

That's another great source: a baby name book. (I'm sure most of you know this.) I flip through the pages and when I see a moniker I like (other than the common ones like Sarah or Michael or Chris which I can just pull out of my head because we're surrounded by people with those names) I put it on the list. Then it's just a matter of picking a last name that fits. Sometimes zipping through the phone book can help, although I don't particularly like that method- it's too time consuming. You have to go through all the A's, B's, etc.

So, take the easy way out. Watch TV or a movie and solve one of the biggest problems of being an author: finding the perfect name for your character.

Char