This week Macy asked us if we think the Voice class has changed the way we write. I think, with a resounding yes, my voice has changed quite a bit. I think it is simpler and more to the point than ever before. As I peel back the layers, I lose the flowery prose covering of the heart of my writing. Although, that was a bit flowery, wasn’t it?
What my heart wants to write about has changed as well. I spoke last week of feeling raw and tender after completing two Barbara Samuels’ classes in a row. At first, I felt as though I needed to be writing about things that matter, not just things I enjoyed reading. These “things” would change the world and speak to people in deep and meaningful ways.
This initial feeling is starting to wane as I am falling in love again with my favorites; regency and medievals. I love the lightness of the regency, and I love the medievals for their dangerous edge.
As National Novel Writing Month Approaches and I delve further into the MIP, which begs to be completed in time for Golden Heart Deadline, I will have a greater sense of what my voice has become. But for now, I think it is striving to be simple, and profound, with a reverence for peace.
Good writing to you all today. Namaste.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
A love hate relationship with my MIP
The greatest secret of success in life is for a person to be ready when their opportunity comes. - Benjamin Disraeli
A few weeks ago Alyson and Macy chose a blog topic of "Things we love and hate about our MIP". For me that seemed to get lost in the doldrums several of us went through, the May Mopes. Now that I see the light at the other end of the tunnel, I thought I could let you know why I love and hate my MIP. Don’t you just love my self promotion?!
What I love:
1. My Hero. He is strong Alpha Male type. Typical for a Historical Romance, I know. I spent a long time deciding who he was and who he resembled. I considered the three most important men in my life: My grandfather, a devastatingly handsome Nordic god who was a dashing rouge, and the twinkle of every young (and old) lasses eye. My Father, also very handsome swashbuckler who could charm his way in or out of any situation you could imagine. And lastly my husband, solid as a rock, strong and sacrificial, the Chief. Well, Ian had to be the chief. He knew he could be nothing other. He is strong and sensitive, and knows what direction he wants to take in life. He is a bit opinionated, instead of wanting the last word, he wants the only word. In fact he says that “Everyone should just shut up and just listen to me!” As you see, our heroine has her work cut out for her!
2. My setting. Medieval Scotland. I know the movie Brave-heart spurred a torrential flood of medieval scottish novels, and people may be sick of them by now, but I have always loved medieval history. Since my Mother has me searching the family archives for her genealogy I am surrounded by all things Scottish. Oddly enough, this search of the ancestors of the Buchanan clan is what started the story in the first place. One of my Mother’s Ancestors were refuges from clan wars in Norway in the 900s and settled in the Loch Lomand area under the protection of the Buchanan clan. They themselves are not Buchanans, more like the adopted little siblings.
Although I have romantic ideas about living in that time period, I am not sure I would be too happy about getting up at 4 am to milk a cow, spend an hour churning butter, and another hour baking bread; all before I could feed my family. Geeze! I would definitely have to be part of the nobility. What? Only a 1% chance? Hmmm.... Good thing I can pick up my bread and butter at the quicki-mart and read about living in medieval times.
3. My plot. I do not want to give away any secrets, but I think I have a pretty original idea, which is very hard to come by in the historical romance genre. Since I have yet to read every historical romance every written, I could be completely off base. Interestingly the plot started from a phone call from my Dad. He called to tell me he was marrying again. His third wife is three years younger than myself... After stewing for a few minutes and deciding it really was none of my business, the idea for “His Father’s Bride” was born.
What I hate:
1. Conflict. Conflict. Conflict. Before I took the Gotham class I knew nothing of conflict, motivation, goals, character arcs. I was just going to happily type my life away, spurning out pages that would be brilliant, funny, and endearing. Every editor would want to publish me and I would sell to the highest bidder! OK, back to reality. Seriously, I did not expect it to be that easy, but I also did not expect conflict to be so hard. It took me so long to understand the reasoning behind “contrived” conflict and why it is harmful to your story. I thought ”What do you mean I can’t make my characters do what I want them to do, I’M WRITING THE STORY!” Yes, you are writing it, but unless it is believable and makes sense, no one is going to read it. “OK. point taken”.
SO there it is: Three loves, One hate. Not too shabby for only being half way through. I am sure I will have a different perspective when I am finished. I will let you know when that golden day arrives.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Oh The Power of Me!
What I learned in Voice Class.... This sounds strangely like the topic of a 3rd grade theme! I hope I do not write it like a third grader as well! hahaha! Well, What did I learn?
I came out of the voice class fresh from the soul exploring, wall tearing class of the Girls in the Basement, and truly, I have not completely finished that either. But when I started Voice, I was at a point in the Girls class where we were digging into our ancient raw and reopened wounds. This had a dramatic effect on my ability to think clearly and write from the heart. I started the voice class raw and disturbed, just like I was feeling at the time. I think many of the comments from my classmates helped me along the journey of realistically looking at my mental and spiritual scars and examine them so closely. Once these were out in the open and I began to deal with them one at a time, the voice seemed to wander from happiness and fulfillment to anger and frustration and back.
For me, this was more about dealing with who I thought I was, who I wanted to be, and who I truly am. Instead of discovering my voice, I discovered me. Some of the comments, although heartfelt, really angered me at first. I did not know how to respond, because I did not want to lash out for what was clearly my problem. Upon more reflection, I wondered if I was basically just lying to myself. I started to panic, and my heart and mind filled with doubt and apprehension. I wrote to Barbara about owning everything. I thought I had, but how exactly do you do that, for maybe I did it wrong. I wrote to another classmate about the overwhelming process of “owning” this life. Along the way, everyone gave me so many wonderful and beautiful things to ponder. I mulled them over for many days and nights and came to the conclusion that I really did not see these things as they were, but in only one way; I was terrified of looking at my life as the whole picture and digesting it all at once in it’s entirety. Instead, I took everything piecemeal, one event and experience at at time. I had advised others that all these experiences make you who you are. I did not realize it was the SUM of all these things TOGETHER AS ONE which amounts to who you are. Elated, I could now move forward. For all the wonder, beauty and even ugliness in my life, this is what I learned in voice class:
I am a really great human being. I have a huge capacity to be caring, considerate, and forgiving. I am a good wife, loving sibling, forgiving daughter, a devoted mother. I am conscientious, responsible, and a hard worker. I love God, but I am not limited to where and when I can be in his spirit, nor am I closed to all the possibilities of the nature of his (or her) existence. I am courageous, enduring, and my spirit will bless others and live on forever. I know that I can handle anything life gives me, with a smile - at least at the end. When the world crumbles, I will not only still be standing, but I will be standing strong!
I came out of the voice class fresh from the soul exploring, wall tearing class of the Girls in the Basement, and truly, I have not completely finished that either. But when I started Voice, I was at a point in the Girls class where we were digging into our ancient raw and reopened wounds. This had a dramatic effect on my ability to think clearly and write from the heart. I started the voice class raw and disturbed, just like I was feeling at the time. I think many of the comments from my classmates helped me along the journey of realistically looking at my mental and spiritual scars and examine them so closely. Once these were out in the open and I began to deal with them one at a time, the voice seemed to wander from happiness and fulfillment to anger and frustration and back.
For me, this was more about dealing with who I thought I was, who I wanted to be, and who I truly am. Instead of discovering my voice, I discovered me. Some of the comments, although heartfelt, really angered me at first. I did not know how to respond, because I did not want to lash out for what was clearly my problem. Upon more reflection, I wondered if I was basically just lying to myself. I started to panic, and my heart and mind filled with doubt and apprehension. I wrote to Barbara about owning everything. I thought I had, but how exactly do you do that, for maybe I did it wrong. I wrote to another classmate about the overwhelming process of “owning” this life. Along the way, everyone gave me so many wonderful and beautiful things to ponder. I mulled them over for many days and nights and came to the conclusion that I really did not see these things as they were, but in only one way; I was terrified of looking at my life as the whole picture and digesting it all at once in it’s entirety. Instead, I took everything piecemeal, one event and experience at at time. I had advised others that all these experiences make you who you are. I did not realize it was the SUM of all these things TOGETHER AS ONE which amounts to who you are. Elated, I could now move forward. For all the wonder, beauty and even ugliness in my life, this is what I learned in voice class:
I am a really great human being. I have a huge capacity to be caring, considerate, and forgiving. I am a good wife, loving sibling, forgiving daughter, a devoted mother. I am conscientious, responsible, and a hard worker. I love God, but I am not limited to where and when I can be in his spirit, nor am I closed to all the possibilities of the nature of his (or her) existence. I am courageous, enduring, and my spirit will bless others and live on forever. I know that I can handle anything life gives me, with a smile - at least at the end. When the world crumbles, I will not only still be standing, but I will be standing strong!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Ho Ho Ho! Christmas Comes Early!
Man, it has been a great week. Other than the kids getting the tummy flu, I mean, it has been a really great week! One of the many highlights included Santa Claus finishing her shopping for the kids - One limited edition, almost out of stock, Nikki - girl of the year American Girl Doll, and the ever elusive Nintendo Wii! Santa has never been so generous, EVER. (Santa has been peddling stuff on Ebay for months. )
I already know what I want for Christmas...Internal conflict. Well, not for me, for my characters. I can’t seem to wrap my head around this one. I write a scene, and toss it. I type all day and then hit delete. The conflict that seems so obvious to me, does not present itself in my writing in an obvious way, or even in an obtuse way. I thought it was genius at first, lending my character a bit of a selfish flaw - but it sits there on the edge of my mind hovering, taunting me at every waking moment.
We know that conflict is what interferes with a character meeting his or her goals. We also know that these said goals are spearheaded by our character’s motivation. This is where I seem to get lost in my head, the a dark forest with so many twist and turns it makes a compass spin.
Perhaps to solve the conundrum of conflict we need to back up. Here is where I am running into trouble. Follow me here:
Internal Conflict for my heroine: (Naming it was the easy part) “fear of abandonment”
OK, this is a paralyzing fear for many people. Now, how does this interfere with her goal, or more specifically what is her internal goal? Well, if she wants to live alone alone she will never worry about feeling abandoned. But living alone would be external, not internal, right? If she surrounds her self with many people, not wait...still external. Internal goal and internal motivation. Find security and true love..well, no not if our heroine is focused on saving her brother and keeping him safe. She has raised him, and she is the only mother he has known. A-hem...External Jackie...get back to the internal. Ok, Internal goals: Security, Safety, to sleep at night and not have to worry about who will take care of them. To feel secure and know that her family will not leave her. Motivation? She is overwhelmed and terrified that yet another person will leave her alone with the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Do you feel like your head is spinning? Well, mine does! Does that make sense to you? Let us recap:
Internal Goal: To FEEL secure and safe from harm.
Internal Motivation: She is overwhelmed and terrified to be left with more responsibility.
Internal Conflict: Fear of abandonment is paralyzing her from doing the things she needs to do procure safety and security.
Wow, for the first time in months I feel like I am getting somewhere. This blog started as a desperate Christmas wish, and the universe instantly answered my prayers as I wrote! All I needed to do is just ask. OK - Here is your assignment for this week. Blog about what you are having trouble with. Ask for your enlightenment. Sit back and write as it is divinely given to you.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
I already know what I want for Christmas...Internal conflict. Well, not for me, for my characters. I can’t seem to wrap my head around this one. I write a scene, and toss it. I type all day and then hit delete. The conflict that seems so obvious to me, does not present itself in my writing in an obvious way, or even in an obtuse way. I thought it was genius at first, lending my character a bit of a selfish flaw - but it sits there on the edge of my mind hovering, taunting me at every waking moment.
We know that conflict is what interferes with a character meeting his or her goals. We also know that these said goals are spearheaded by our character’s motivation. This is where I seem to get lost in my head, the a dark forest with so many twist and turns it makes a compass spin.
Perhaps to solve the conundrum of conflict we need to back up. Here is where I am running into trouble. Follow me here:
Internal Conflict for my heroine: (Naming it was the easy part) “fear of abandonment”
OK, this is a paralyzing fear for many people. Now, how does this interfere with her goal, or more specifically what is her internal goal? Well, if she wants to live alone alone she will never worry about feeling abandoned. But living alone would be external, not internal, right? If she surrounds her self with many people, not wait...still external. Internal goal and internal motivation. Find security and true love..well, no not if our heroine is focused on saving her brother and keeping him safe. She has raised him, and she is the only mother he has known. A-hem...External Jackie...get back to the internal. Ok, Internal goals: Security, Safety, to sleep at night and not have to worry about who will take care of them. To feel secure and know that her family will not leave her. Motivation? She is overwhelmed and terrified that yet another person will leave her alone with the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Do you feel like your head is spinning? Well, mine does! Does that make sense to you? Let us recap:
Internal Goal: To FEEL secure and safe from harm.
Internal Motivation: She is overwhelmed and terrified to be left with more responsibility.
Internal Conflict: Fear of abandonment is paralyzing her from doing the things she needs to do procure safety and security.
Wow, for the first time in months I feel like I am getting somewhere. This blog started as a desperate Christmas wish, and the universe instantly answered my prayers as I wrote! All I needed to do is just ask. OK - Here is your assignment for this week. Blog about what you are having trouble with. Ask for your enlightenment. Sit back and write as it is divinely given to you.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Voice Class Exercize
The following is an exercise from the Voice Class I took with Barbara Samuels. It was a wonderful class, and I could hear my voice growing stronger with each exercise.
1. Where did you grow up? What are the Old World or native languages that
predominate in that area? Any special accent? I grew up in 36 states. I have no accent that I know of and everyone else did have an accent particular to their area.
2. Who taught you to talk? Do your parents have an accent of any kind? Did
anyone ever speak a language other than English around you/to you? My parents taught me to talk. My father grew up in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the US. He has no accent at all and his speech is very refined and articulate. My Mother grew up in New Hampshire, and still retains a small amount of the Northern New England accent. My Father spoke french and german to me growing up. My grandfather spoke norwegian to his brothers and mother, but refused to speak it to us, because he wanted us to be Americans.
3. What were the main ethnic groups around you when you grew up? WASPs and Native Inuits.
If there's a predominant ethnic group in that geography, do you know any of
the stories/legends/superstitions of that group? Did any of them stick with
you particularly when you were a child? When I was 5, I loved being from Nome Alaska, and I knew many legends and native words and customs of the Inuits. When I was 6 we moved to Northern New Hampshire and the kids teased me so terribly about being an eskimo that my parents took me out of the school and put me in school in quebec, where they did not speak English. I still excelled.
4. Have you ever felt a particular affinity for a geography or culture that
is not your own? I often wish I was still in the lands of my ancestors: Scotland, Ireland, and Norway.
Why? What about it do you love or identify with? The history of the lands and the people.
5. What did you love more than anything on earth when you were twelve? My Sunshine Family Dolls. I wish I knew what happened to them.
What did you want to be then? A marine biologist. I spent every waking moment that I was not at school or swim team exploring the intercostal waterway behind my house in Florida.
6. What are your top five favorite novels of all time? What was your
favorite book when you were 12? Fourteen?
1. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
2. A prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
3. Emma by Jane Austin
4. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crieghton
5. Harry Potter 1-7 (Is that cheating?)
Favorite book when I was 12: Tales of 4th grade Nothing by Judy Blume
Favorite book when I was 14: All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
7. Can you point to a writer or a book that made you want to be a writer?
Who/What? No, I started writing when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade.
8. What book do you most deeply wish you'd written? Why? What parts of it
make you swoon? Characters? Voice? Plot? Sherry Thomas’ Private arrangements. Her plot is unique, she breaks the rules yet it still flows, her characters are deeply flawed and you love them all the more for it. AS for swooning...no I did not swoon, but I bawled like a baby when I thought they really would never be together.
Try typing a few pages from it, just to see how it feels to you. Where you'd
change the flow of the language, the way the paragraphs are broken. She is much more articulate than I, so the pattern and cadence of her sentences are longer at times.
9. What are your obvious passions? (Hobbies, avocations, etc.) Swimming, scuba diving, trail running, reading, and photography.
10 What are the defining characteristics of these passions? (for example,
gardeners and photographers are usually interested in light and color. Model
builders and cross-stitchers tend to like attention to detail.) Being surrounded by or immersed in nature.
11. What would five friends all say about you if someone asked them to name
a defining passion?
creative artist endeavors - scrap-booking, sewing, cake making, writing
12. What are your secret passions? Reiki and healing arts. I know it is not a secret to many of you who know me on line, but in my social circles that I interact with, I do not tell people about it. Mentioning that you can feel other people’s pain and ease their suffering and they will look at you like you have three heads. That is the world that I live in right now. (Flag-waving, Apple-pie loving, patriotic, fundamental and evangelical Christian Military.)
13, What charities speak to you? What one world or national ill would you fix magically if you could? What world sorrows can move you to tears? Children's’ Charities. The suffering of Children destroys me, crimes against children enrage me. I would change that the fact that billions of adults use power over the small and weak to better advantage or thrill themselves.
14. If you weren't a writer, but could be any other kind of artist/musician,
what would you choose?. What would be your tools? why? I would be a cellist. I love the music and the passionate way the cellist moves with the cello while performing. It is intoxicating.
15. Now focus on your own work: do you notice yourself returning to certain
themes? Yes, the trilogy or love triangles that C. Alyson Love pointed out. Everything has some sort of triangle!
Are there times/places that you use repeatedly? If so, can you identify the
reasons it appeals to you, and if so, are there other times/places that
might also stimulate your passions? Have you ever tried to use those other
places/times? I think I focus on medieval historical because life in the middle ages was more fragile. There were no antibiotics to cure a small cut or a mild fever. There was the plague, and then the plague again. The regime in power could disappear in a matter of minutes, leaving you and your family homeless or dead. There was no time to mess around. Life was short and harsh, marriages were for convenience, political gain, titles and wealth. So when love could be found in desperate situations, it was worth fighting for, worth dying for, literally. I am also interested in the Viking Age, Colonial America, and Regency and Victorian England. I have not used these yet.
What do readers/editors/outsiders seem to respond to most enthusiastically
in your work? Is there anything that they see as a strength that you don't
notice or value? The sexual tension and setting the scene. Some people think that my dialog is witty , but I did not notice that. I really want to be witty though!!! :o)
What would you LIKE people to say about your voice? I would like people to say my voice is witty, passionate, and moves them to a deeper level.
If you could only write ONE book in your life, what book would it be?
I would like to write a book that lifts your soul and leaves you completely satisfied and satiated.
Why aren't you writing it? I did not have the time to devote or the creative energies to devote to it. But now after girls in the basement, and voice, and my little ones going back to school last week, I am ready to go!
Now, if you can, try to condense all these defining things into a paragraph,
or even better, one sentence.
My voice is......,the feeling of Christmas night when you are sitting in front of the fire, sipping hot chocolate, watching the lights twinkle on the tree and the snow drift lightly down outside the window, while Nat King Cole’s Christmas Song is playing softly in the background.
1. Where did you grow up? What are the Old World or native languages that
predominate in that area? Any special accent? I grew up in 36 states. I have no accent that I know of and everyone else did have an accent particular to their area.
2. Who taught you to talk? Do your parents have an accent of any kind? Did
anyone ever speak a language other than English around you/to you? My parents taught me to talk. My father grew up in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the US. He has no accent at all and his speech is very refined and articulate. My Mother grew up in New Hampshire, and still retains a small amount of the Northern New England accent. My Father spoke french and german to me growing up. My grandfather spoke norwegian to his brothers and mother, but refused to speak it to us, because he wanted us to be Americans.
3. What were the main ethnic groups around you when you grew up? WASPs and Native Inuits.
If there's a predominant ethnic group in that geography, do you know any of
the stories/legends/superstitions of that group? Did any of them stick with
you particularly when you were a child? When I was 5, I loved being from Nome Alaska, and I knew many legends and native words and customs of the Inuits. When I was 6 we moved to Northern New Hampshire and the kids teased me so terribly about being an eskimo that my parents took me out of the school and put me in school in quebec, where they did not speak English. I still excelled.
4. Have you ever felt a particular affinity for a geography or culture that
is not your own? I often wish I was still in the lands of my ancestors: Scotland, Ireland, and Norway.
Why? What about it do you love or identify with? The history of the lands and the people.
5. What did you love more than anything on earth when you were twelve? My Sunshine Family Dolls. I wish I knew what happened to them.
What did you want to be then? A marine biologist. I spent every waking moment that I was not at school or swim team exploring the intercostal waterway behind my house in Florida.
6. What are your top five favorite novels of all time? What was your
favorite book when you were 12? Fourteen?
1. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
2. A prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
3. Emma by Jane Austin
4. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crieghton
5. Harry Potter 1-7 (Is that cheating?)
Favorite book when I was 12: Tales of 4th grade Nothing by Judy Blume
Favorite book when I was 14: All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
7. Can you point to a writer or a book that made you want to be a writer?
Who/What? No, I started writing when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade.
8. What book do you most deeply wish you'd written? Why? What parts of it
make you swoon? Characters? Voice? Plot? Sherry Thomas’ Private arrangements. Her plot is unique, she breaks the rules yet it still flows, her characters are deeply flawed and you love them all the more for it. AS for swooning...no I did not swoon, but I bawled like a baby when I thought they really would never be together.
Try typing a few pages from it, just to see how it feels to you. Where you'd
change the flow of the language, the way the paragraphs are broken. She is much more articulate than I, so the pattern and cadence of her sentences are longer at times.
9. What are your obvious passions? (Hobbies, avocations, etc.) Swimming, scuba diving, trail running, reading, and photography.
10 What are the defining characteristics of these passions? (for example,
gardeners and photographers are usually interested in light and color. Model
builders and cross-stitchers tend to like attention to detail.) Being surrounded by or immersed in nature.
11. What would five friends all say about you if someone asked them to name
a defining passion?
creative artist endeavors - scrap-booking, sewing, cake making, writing
12. What are your secret passions? Reiki and healing arts. I know it is not a secret to many of you who know me on line, but in my social circles that I interact with, I do not tell people about it. Mentioning that you can feel other people’s pain and ease their suffering and they will look at you like you have three heads. That is the world that I live in right now. (Flag-waving, Apple-pie loving, patriotic, fundamental and evangelical Christian Military.)
13, What charities speak to you? What one world or national ill would you fix magically if you could? What world sorrows can move you to tears? Children's’ Charities. The suffering of Children destroys me, crimes against children enrage me. I would change that the fact that billions of adults use power over the small and weak to better advantage or thrill themselves.
14. If you weren't a writer, but could be any other kind of artist/musician,
what would you choose?. What would be your tools? why? I would be a cellist. I love the music and the passionate way the cellist moves with the cello while performing. It is intoxicating.
15. Now focus on your own work: do you notice yourself returning to certain
themes? Yes, the trilogy or love triangles that C. Alyson Love pointed out. Everything has some sort of triangle!
Are there times/places that you use repeatedly? If so, can you identify the
reasons it appeals to you, and if so, are there other times/places that
might also stimulate your passions? Have you ever tried to use those other
places/times? I think I focus on medieval historical because life in the middle ages was more fragile. There were no antibiotics to cure a small cut or a mild fever. There was the plague, and then the plague again. The regime in power could disappear in a matter of minutes, leaving you and your family homeless or dead. There was no time to mess around. Life was short and harsh, marriages were for convenience, political gain, titles and wealth. So when love could be found in desperate situations, it was worth fighting for, worth dying for, literally. I am also interested in the Viking Age, Colonial America, and Regency and Victorian England. I have not used these yet.
What do readers/editors/outsiders seem to respond to most enthusiastically
in your work? Is there anything that they see as a strength that you don't
notice or value? The sexual tension and setting the scene. Some people think that my dialog is witty , but I did not notice that. I really want to be witty though!!! :o)
What would you LIKE people to say about your voice? I would like people to say my voice is witty, passionate, and moves them to a deeper level.
If you could only write ONE book in your life, what book would it be?
I would like to write a book that lifts your soul and leaves you completely satisfied and satiated.
Why aren't you writing it? I did not have the time to devote or the creative energies to devote to it. But now after girls in the basement, and voice, and my little ones going back to school last week, I am ready to go!
Now, if you can, try to condense all these defining things into a paragraph,
or even better, one sentence.
My voice is......,the feeling of Christmas night when you are sitting in front of the fire, sipping hot chocolate, watching the lights twinkle on the tree and the snow drift lightly down outside the window, while Nat King Cole’s Christmas Song is playing softly in the background.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Voice reponse
This week in Barbara's Workshop she gave us Photos to examine and write a response. I think I did it incorrectly. I just started writing from the gut, where everyone else was writing stories. I still like my response, even if it was wrong.
Photo #1 Runner's feet going down the hill:
Freedom. Freedom from my earthly constraint . Freedom to be who I
really am. Free Range Human. Go anywhere unrestricted. No
boundaries, no baggage, no limitations. Anyone and everyone can
obtain this, even me. Running sets you free. There is nothing that
can hold you back nothing that you can tie you down to the drudgery of
our society, the drudgery we have impaled ourselves on, and
conditioned each other to accept as normalcy and happiness. Freedom
to escape all societal shackles.
I love running trails best of all. I will not run asphalt. I have
left the sport of triathlon, to get off the roads. Running the trails is like going to church for me, although some of my christian friends say that the devil is pulling me
away. To hell with that. I find peace and God out there in the woods, along the streams, and high atop the mountains. I have always found him there and listening to me, much
easier than in the dozens of churches I have tried to find him in. He
is there with his feminine persona "Mother Nature". They are one, the
great creator, and I can be out in the middle of his majestic works
and speak to him, rather than in a man made creation designed to teach
me how man thinks I should worship him. Running causes endorphins
that I do not get from swimming. When I swim I am feeling calm and at
peace and I work through problems in my head. But when I run, it is
like a wave of cleansing crashes over me, then pours into me, and then
finally leaves me taking with it all the bad thoughts, fears, and
environmental, social, and mental toxins that have accosted me through
day to day life.
My Freedom, My life.
Photo #2 Nude:
arbara picked Nude for me
It is so interesting that you picked the nude for me. I have been
struggling with body issues for about 14 years now. Although my mother
says I was anorexic before I became an over eater. It started when my
running slowed down. I got a job and I could not run for hours and
hours so I started to snack to deal with stress. When I married my
husband all the issues I had with my parents and their dysfunctional
marriage started to bubble to the surface and I blocked out the issues
with food. My husband withdrew after the first year of marriage for
other reasons, and I consoled myself with food. This became a pattern
with me. When I had finally worked out the issues with my parents and
confronted them with the problems, my weight began to drop. When my
husband realized what an Ass he had become and turned our marriage
around, my weight continued to drop. I was at a very healthy weight
for the first time since puberty. And then I got pregnant, and lost
the baby. And lost another, and another, and another. When Bryn came
along after months of bed rest, and was brought into the world almost
dead from a delivery my OB called, and I quote, "Absolutely horrific",
the roller-coaster of eating to dull the pain and guilt started again.
10 pounds, 20 pounds. Pregnant again, lost it. 30 pounds, pregnant
with twins, lost one, and the other Hung on with tenacity (She is
still the most tenacious person you will EVER meet.) Then everything
was going OK. 10, -20. Annika is diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease, the
Chemo starts, + 10. Pregnant with twin again, lost them both +30. #)
lbs of Pure Guilt. It had to me my fault right? And so on and so
forth. Time is up. I did not mean to whine so much.
Photo #1 Runner's feet going down the hill:
Freedom. Freedom from my earthly constraint . Freedom to be who I
really am. Free Range Human. Go anywhere unrestricted. No
boundaries, no baggage, no limitations. Anyone and everyone can
obtain this, even me. Running sets you free. There is nothing that
can hold you back nothing that you can tie you down to the drudgery of
our society, the drudgery we have impaled ourselves on, and
conditioned each other to accept as normalcy and happiness. Freedom
to escape all societal shackles.
I love running trails best of all. I will not run asphalt. I have
left the sport of triathlon, to get off the roads. Running the trails is like going to church for me, although some of my christian friends say that the devil is pulling me
away. To hell with that. I find peace and God out there in the woods, along the streams, and high atop the mountains. I have always found him there and listening to me, much
easier than in the dozens of churches I have tried to find him in. He
is there with his feminine persona "Mother Nature". They are one, the
great creator, and I can be out in the middle of his majestic works
and speak to him, rather than in a man made creation designed to teach
me how man thinks I should worship him. Running causes endorphins
that I do not get from swimming. When I swim I am feeling calm and at
peace and I work through problems in my head. But when I run, it is
like a wave of cleansing crashes over me, then pours into me, and then
finally leaves me taking with it all the bad thoughts, fears, and
environmental, social, and mental toxins that have accosted me through
day to day life.
My Freedom, My life.
Photo #2 Nude:
arbara picked Nude for me
It is so interesting that you picked the nude for me. I have been
struggling with body issues for about 14 years now. Although my mother
says I was anorexic before I became an over eater. It started when my
running slowed down. I got a job and I could not run for hours and
hours so I started to snack to deal with stress. When I married my
husband all the issues I had with my parents and their dysfunctional
marriage started to bubble to the surface and I blocked out the issues
with food. My husband withdrew after the first year of marriage for
other reasons, and I consoled myself with food. This became a pattern
with me. When I had finally worked out the issues with my parents and
confronted them with the problems, my weight began to drop. When my
husband realized what an Ass he had become and turned our marriage
around, my weight continued to drop. I was at a very healthy weight
for the first time since puberty. And then I got pregnant, and lost
the baby. And lost another, and another, and another. When Bryn came
along after months of bed rest, and was brought into the world almost
dead from a delivery my OB called, and I quote, "Absolutely horrific",
the roller-coaster of eating to dull the pain and guilt started again.
10 pounds, 20 pounds. Pregnant again, lost it. 30 pounds, pregnant
with twins, lost one, and the other Hung on with tenacity (She is
still the most tenacious person you will EVER meet.) Then everything
was going OK. 10, -20. Annika is diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease, the
Chemo starts, + 10. Pregnant with twin again, lost them both +30. #)
lbs of Pure Guilt. It had to me my fault right? And so on and so
forth. Time is up. I did not mean to whine so much.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Why don't I understand secondary characters?
I went back to my closet and went through all my “keepers” looking for a book with notable secondary characters. (I usually pass my books on to others, as we are very short on space in military quarters.) Out of all my keepers I could not come up with six books – or series of books, that had a moving secondary character, one that influenced the story in a memorable way, other than the antagonist. Even in my Collection of the great Jane Austin, I felt the secondary characters were so lacking. In Pride & Prejudice, Jane is such a lackluster individual it is hard to imagine that she and Elisabeth came from the same family.
The one notable exception of course is the Harry Potter series, I love how both Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger help Harry along his true path, supporting him when he needs support, and standing up to him when he is wrong. But what does JK Rowling do wrong? Besides not write about Harry for the rest of her life! Just kidding, we do not want this bright mind to burn out.
But as for my main reading genre, Romance, nothing really stands out. What does that mean? Does it mean in Romance secondary characters are not important? Why have them? Are they just filling up space? No, because all characters must have an impact on the story, correct? Why would they be there if they have no impact and if they have an impact, why can I not remember them?
I do recall one secondary character that did leave an impact on me but it was one of pity, I felt so badly that the heroine treated her friend so badly, it actually made me hate the story because I could not care less about the heroine after her callous treatment of someone who truly cared about her well being.
So, as I wrestle with the role of my secondary characters in my book, I leave you with a list of questions about secondary characters.
1. Are they a necessity to the Romance Genre?
2. What type of role do they have in the structure of a Novel?
3. Do we need the impacts of these characters to be sublime in order not to detract from the story?
4. If antagonists are not considered secondary characters, can a secondary character also be an antagonist?
5. How much of an impact should a secondary character have on your protagonists’ goal, conflict, and motivation?
6. Should they all impact our story, or are some just along for the ride.
I will not taint your opinions with my answers right now, I just would like you to ponder these questions and use your answers to assist your in your MIP. Cheers!
The one notable exception of course is the Harry Potter series, I love how both Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger help Harry along his true path, supporting him when he needs support, and standing up to him when he is wrong. But what does JK Rowling do wrong? Besides not write about Harry for the rest of her life! Just kidding, we do not want this bright mind to burn out.
But as for my main reading genre, Romance, nothing really stands out. What does that mean? Does it mean in Romance secondary characters are not important? Why have them? Are they just filling up space? No, because all characters must have an impact on the story, correct? Why would they be there if they have no impact and if they have an impact, why can I not remember them?
I do recall one secondary character that did leave an impact on me but it was one of pity, I felt so badly that the heroine treated her friend so badly, it actually made me hate the story because I could not care less about the heroine after her callous treatment of someone who truly cared about her well being.
So, as I wrestle with the role of my secondary characters in my book, I leave you with a list of questions about secondary characters.
1. Are they a necessity to the Romance Genre?
2. What type of role do they have in the structure of a Novel?
3. Do we need the impacts of these characters to be sublime in order not to detract from the story?
4. If antagonists are not considered secondary characters, can a secondary character also be an antagonist?
5. How much of an impact should a secondary character have on your protagonists’ goal, conflict, and motivation?
6. Should they all impact our story, or are some just along for the ride.
I will not taint your opinions with my answers right now, I just would like you to ponder these questions and use your answers to assist your in your MIP. Cheers!
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