Have Blog, Will Travel

On my way from our Florida home to our summer hangout in New Jersey, Kim Trotto, a member of my writers group invited me to participate in this Writers’ Blog Tour. It sounded like too much fun to decline. So, suitcase yet unpacked, here I am.

The Writers’ Blog Tour is sort of a chain letter of writers all answering the same four questions. It’s a great opportunity to share about why we write and how. I’ll be passing the tour on to Doris Meredith and Karen Kelly Boyce. You can read more about them below. So here are my answers to the four questions.

   

1)  What am I working on?

Right now I’ve written the beginning of a mystery about a traveling nurse. I’ve also started a relationship story about a woman in her early sixties who realizes her life needs changing. I’m also considering writing a sequel to my first novel, Bellehaven, an idea that I initially rejected but after so many readers asked me for a follow up novel with the characters they said they loved, I’m considering it.

2)  How does my work differ from others of its genre?

When I write, I try to leave out the parts of a novel that many readers, including me, skim read “to get to the good stuff.” I avoid filler as much as I can. I also incorporate my life experience working with older individuals in a way that I believe is unique and speaks to the value of all people. My novels are character rather than plot driven.

3)  Why do I write what I do?

Much of what I write, though fiction, comes out of my life experience in elder care. I learned so much from those I cared for as a nurse, nursing home administrator and consultant. I want to help others understand the life process, but in an entertaining way, if possible. It’s important to me that my characters reflect their life history and are drawn as completely and multilayered as possible, even though they are fictional people.

4)  How does my writing process work?

I like to write spontaneously when I first begin a story and just let it unfold, though I must admit I do have a loose outline of how the story will go. Then I put it aside for several days. While I’m letting it ‘rest,” I find I am still writing in my head, working out what I may change or what the next scene or chapter will contain. Once I have the rough story or novel written out, I review with what I like to think is an analytical eye to see what is missing, out of place or unnecessary. I would like to say I write every day but while I don’t do actual physical writing, I am always writing in my mind. Sometimes, while driving, I  pull over to jot down an idea or scene I visualize. Fortunately, whether we’re on our island home in New Jersey or Florida, the traffic is not thick enough to get in the way!

Now it’s time to introduce our next two bloggers. Be sure to check them out next Tuesday, May 13, to read about their writing.

Karen Kelly Boyce: http://www.karenkellyboyce.com/blog, has written and published six books and the first four won the esteemed Catholic Writers Guild seal of approval. Down Right Good was awarded the 2012 Eric Hoffer Gold Award in fiction. She’s written a memoir, A Bend in the Road, which speaks to her journey with breast cancer. Her other works include fiction for both children and adults. All her books are faith based and uplifting.

D.R. Meredith: 
http://highwatermysteries.wordpress.com , is a split personality: a suburban wife until all the chores are done and the errands run, then she locks herself in her office and commits murder. As her second personality she has written three different mystery series, multiple short stories, and a historical series as a chance of pace. She has twice been a finalist for the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original. She reviews books in her spare time.

A Walk on the Other Side

As a writer, I confess I’m a creature of habit. Writing comes easiest when I’m in my usual writing “space”—a room tucked away from TV and other distractions. I put on some of my favorite music, Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Chris Botti, and Norah Jones, and the words flow. Well, they flow most of the time…

Spending the winter in Florida where I write on a laptop in the dining room/living room while first football and now March madness prevails, however, has resulted in a bit of a block. My muse, it seems, stayed at home. And of course, the lure of sunshine, beach, and pool has also been hard to resist.

Still, I tell myself that's no excuse and call to mind one of my favorite quotes: "Those who write are writers. Those who wait  are waiters," coined by science fiction and fantasy author A. Lee Martinez. Yet despite my get tough stance, I still come up blank. All my forced sitting in front of the white screen seems to make it worse.

In desperation, I read a lot of how-to-break-through writers block articles on the Internet. The great number of the suggestions tells me I'm not alone in my dilemma. I find a common thread in many of the prompts that tells me I need to recall the joy that I first experienced when I began writing. One way to do this according to my research is to try a different genre, to take a “walk” on the other side—the other side of your usual writing, that is. If fiction is what you normally do, try a poem or a memoir piece, or vice versa.

So I decide to take a break and enjoy writing purely for writing’s sake without pressure. Why not play with words, I thought, like a kid in a sandbox? I can still visualize my now adult daughters as children just letting the sand sift through their fingers. Their joy in the texture wasn't marred by any need to create something permanent or profound. Inspired by that image, I take pen in hand and let my hand take over. I pick poetry as my "blockbreaker" because poets seem to truly love and treasure words. One of the sites I found helpful is Instant Poetry Forms.

Here’s a bit of fun I had with just a wee bit of poetry. It’ll never be in an anthology, but it was fun to play with the words and definitely the antidote to my writer's block. It does need one last line in the second stanza, though. Any idea, fellow writers? Send them to me! But only if you can have fun playing in my poetic sandbox...

A Writer’s Lament

Ideas aplenty come

As I sit by poolside

Long fled before I go to bed

Before the Sun’s memory leaves my skin.

The shower’s hour brings grand ideas

While I soap and shampoo

Gone, oh why, before I’m dry?


I'd also love to hear your solutions for those dry spells in your creativity. And remember:

Taking a Leap of Faith

It’s hard to hold onto hope sometimes, to continue to believe life is good when we see so much evidence to the contrary. War, unemployment, violence, and even the lack of common civility can wear us out. Yet this is the time in which we live so it’s important to look forward and not get dragged down by all the bad news we read on the Internet and see on the TV.

 Personally, I’ve always thought myself as an optimist, the possessor of the proverbial half full glass rather than the half empty, but I still sometimes find it hard to be upbeat. And with my winter goal of sending out query letters to literary agents, my usual cheerful view somehow became lost despite the warm Florida sun. Each polite rejection form letter seemed like another weight on my mood and I couldn’t wrap my psyche around enough positive energy to even write a blog entry. Instead, I resorted to sitting in the sun, scribbling some attempts at writing poetry and a mystery, and reading lots of novels.

My mood shift began when I chose a different route through downtown Fort Pierce and saw an amazing sculpture. A man high up on a diving board stood poised to dive into a tree filled with roses.

For the rest of the day I reflected on the significance of this lovely and intriguing piece of art. Such an optimistic image, I thought. Imagine viewing a lovely sight of flowers waiting for you while knowing those beautiful blooms would also hold thorns that might pierce your joy.

The figure is an average sort, a little thick in the waist, perhaps past his prime—an older man and one who wouldn’t jump as a younger person would. No, this man would definitely think before he takes a plunge.

Later, I research the sculpture and discover it’s entitled, “A Leap of Faith,” by a local artist, Pat Cochran. Commissioned in 2009, the statue illustrates the small quaint town’s determination to look forward with optimism rather than surrender to the downturned economy. It’s their symbol for taking a leap of faith by continuing to support the arts and add culture to the downtown and riverfront areas. 

As I reflect about what it means to take a leap of faith, I realize it’s something we face often in our daily lives—both big and small decisions require us to do so. Writing and sharing our  thoughts with others involves taking a leap of faith, a trust that requires moving out of our comfort zone. We sit down at the keyboard or take a pencil in hand and believe the words will come. We write our synopsis and query letter and send it off with hope that just maybe this time, this will be the one that clicks. 

Like the man on the diving board, looking out at all the beautiful albeit possibly hurtful outcomes, without taking that risk, we remain trapped looking at all the possibilities in our lives. The man stands on the edge, but somehow, I have no doubt that he intends to “take the plunge.” And like him, taking that leap of faith doesn’t mean jumping blindly; we, too, must recognize our choices will entail some lovely flowers, but possibly some painful outcomes as well.     

Here’s a few things that you might find helpful when you consider taking a leap of faith:

1.     Listen to your inner voice.

2.     Believe in yourself and your choices.

3.     Seek people who support you.

4.     Face your fears.

5.     Trust you will learn, whatever the outcome.

Most of all, stay upbeat and when in doubt, repeat the encouraging words of John Burroughs, “Leap and the net will appear.”

                                                                                      

 

A Pumpkin Pie Sort of Woman...

Recently, my friend, Beth wrote an excellent piece on OpenSalon.com, entitled "I Like the Pie" All about coconut cream pie. Such a delicious and funny story that I e-mailed her to tell her how I could taste her pie.

Just reading her essay, I added, resulted in a weight gain even though I didn't like coconut cream pie.

She wrote back and asked me what kind of pie I liked. I didn't hesitate. Why, pumpkin, of course.

My answer didn't seem to surprise Beth since she could visualize me as a "pumpkin pie sort of woman." That got me thinking. What exactly is a "pumpkin pie sort of woman?" Could I be on the track of a whole new way to define personality? I decided to test it out by asking some family members and friends what kind of "pie man or woman" they were. Some of the answers surprised me; some didn't. One thing I did discover was how much fun it can be to consider ourselves in a light hearted and unexpected way.

Pick a color: Grandson John's answer didn't surprise me. Color helped determine his choice: Blue. "A relaxed color," he says, "I am very laid back and blueberry is low key, but delicious." A sophomore in college, John is the only person I know who seems both laid back and focused. That's not an easy feat!

Laura concurs with John, but takes it a step further. Then again, what can I expect of a fellow writer who wrotes both prose and poetry? "Blueberry is so vivid, decadently gooey and rich as King Arthur's Court…blueberry is earthy and darkly mysterious. It smacks of fingerpainting and opulence, wild bears in Alaska—all neatly packaged into an oozing purple mess. Blueberry pie is contradictory and complicated…"

Consider a singing apple: Jackie, who I've always seen as an upbeat person had this to say: "The apples of a new season are crisp, sometimes a bit tart, but pleasing. That's me, and apple pie, desiring to please and surprise, to bring a smile. (Do apples "sing?" I do!)"

Dare to dissent: Beth, my favorite niece, is always honest and she didn't disappoint when put to the pie test. "The real truth about what kind of pie I would be —None! I'm more of a homemade chocolate cake. Soft, comforting, friendly welcoming, true to the end, and it gets you through the best and worst times. Why would I want to be a pie that only comes out during the holidays when chocolate cake is there all year long—day in and day out?"

Search for versatility: Tracie, who provides help whenever she's at the library desk, chooses cherry. "Each piece of fruit is compact, individual, and always offers a surprise. Sometimes sweet, sometimes not, but definitely not always what you're expecting."

Go for the unexpected: Richard and Sandy, both fellow bloggers, went for pecan. Individualists, these two, who look beyond the traditional fruit pie mindset.
Richard says, "Like I see myself, pecan pie is a little nutty, but sweet. Crusty, too. "

Sandy, who also happens to be my daughter, on the other hand, opts for the view that "it is the sort of sweet that makes you feel at home and that's what I want to do for my partner, Julie." She has loved the "brown sugary flavor" of pecan pie since she was young. One of my favorite pictures of all times is with her holding our grandson, Joe, and looking with adoration at one of my home baked pecan pies many Thanksgivings ago. I think Joe is also looking at it, too!

Feed the world: I loved all the answers, but my all time favorite has to be my neighbor and friend, Steve's. "As someone who has always liked to be liked, I would want to be a pizza pie. Who doesn't like pizza? One of my fantasies is to be able to start a huge pizza manufacturing company. I would then ship pizzas all over the world, especially to the most impoverished areas. It would all be done anonymously and freely under the banner of 'Pizzas for Peace.'"

As far as me, Beth is right—I am a "pumpkin pie kind of woman." Like pumpkin pie, I search for authenticity in my life and relationships—no drama, please, just pure, uncomplicated and unconditional love. Yet, I hope to always add some spice to my interactions, too, just like that wonderful taste and aroma cinnamon brings to that dear pumpkin.

So, what kind of pie woman or man are you? If you're having trouble deciding, one of my interviewees told me while she was pondering her answer, a coworker googled the concept and found the following website:
 http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofpieareyouquiz.
I resisted checking it out until I finished this entry. Now I think I'll go see what it suggests…

And by the way, Beth, what kind of pie woman are you? I have trouble seeing you as coconut cream pie…

Collections Happen

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few." Anne Morrow Lindbergh 

While my knowledge of Anne Morrow Lindbergh is mainly from her wonderful book, Gifts from the Sea, this quote suggests she's a minimalist. A wonderful "less is more" approach to life, but not the image of a true collector. I see many seashell collectors since I live at the beach. And none of them limit themselves to "collecting only a few." Their shell theme goes much further. Their houses are filled with pictures, dishes, towels, shower curtains, and furniture covers, inside and out, with a shell motif.

Collections happen. I came to this conclusion after some time of study. My education began innocently enough at our local library where a rectangular case with the sole purpose of displaying collections resides in the lobby. The collections are often unusual. Consider a sea of Smurfs. Remember those funny looking little blue…men, boys, elves, martians? Marionettes and Pez containers were two more exotic displays.

Why do we feel compelled to collect? And why do we choose the things we do? Or do our collectables choose us? Some anthropologists suggest our need to collect may be connected to an earlier point on our evolutionary journey. Susan Pearce, author of Interpreting Objects and Collections, says one in three North Americans collect something. Where are you on the spectrum? Before you say you're not the one in three, check your drawers and closets. Do you accumulate photos, ticket stubs, CDs?

After conducting further nonscientific research, I realized collectors are not born on the same motivational paths.

Consider the following groups:

The Indiana Jones: For this collector, it's all about the quest. Fellow blogger, Sandy, collects fine musical instruments and confesses, "For me, it's all about the conquest. I enjoy the ones I have, but my mind is already moving onto what I want next." On her search list: an antique banjo.

The Accidental Tourist: This is my category. I don't know how my collection of small bunnies began, but like real life rabbits they've multiplied rapidly. My two favorites sit on each side of my computer and I consider them my Muses since they always smile encouragement when I sit down and sweat in front of a blank screen.


The Reluctant Joiner: This is a person who never wanted to be an accumulator. Someone told me about a woman she met who had a bird house collection. "You must really love birds," my friend said to her. The woman looked at her. "Birds? Why would you think that?" It all began one Christmas when three people gave her the same gift. You guessed it — bird houses. Before she could return them, her birthday arrived, along with — right again — more bird houses.

The Sensualist: Stu, a member of my writers' group, collects fine porcelain Madonna figures. I saw his collection when it graced our library case. Stu is a discriminating connoisseur. He only adds to his collection when he sees an exceptional piece. His joy is in the loveliness of the art.

The Banker: My significant other, Will, began collecting commemorative quarters in 1999. He's sure they'll be worth more than a quarter each once the Treasury completes the series. The way the economy is going, I think he'll be lucky to break even. Still, it's nice to have something financial to think you can fall back on…

The Torch Carrier: The last display in the library case was a multitude of egg cups. One was labeled "Ginger." Aha, someone else to question. Ginger happens to be the library person with the challenge of setting up displays. "I began collecting egg cups because my mother collected them," she explained. So she just fell into her collection, so to speak. It's nice to know her mother's passion will live on. I wonder if one of Ginger's children will continue the tradition.

The Identity Seeker: The minute she saw the red satin pig with rhinestone eyes in Neiman Marcus, Nancy had to have it since it was time to do something nice for herself. Her Independence Pig became the first of many. Years later, when she was in a different emotional place, she was ready to move on. The defining moment, she says, was when a friend said, "Every time I see a pig, I think of you." Definitely time to find her menagerie another home.

The Memory Seekers: There's a little bit of this in all of us. Photos, ticket stubs, concert programs, but especially pictures evoke memories of our lives. My screensaver consists of a rolling picture show. California trips intermixed with Florida winters, cruises, family members at various ages, and even images I've used in blog postings. Walter Benjamin, a German writer and essayist, said it best: "Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector's passion borders on the chaos of memories."

The Knowledge seeker: I read once that everyone should be an expert on something. Do you have enough knowledge to speak to a particular topic? The Gettysburg battle? The life cycle of Barbie dolls? This is my wannabe collector status. All I have to do is find out what the one thing is that I'm more interested in than anything else… But maybe that's a blog for another day.

Seriously, if you haven't started collecting, think about doing so. It helps people know what to buy you for your birthday, gives you a reason to go to flea markets and yard sales, and hides the dust on your window sills. Join the ranks of the many!

Every Cliché has a Silver Lining

After several months away in sunny Florida, I looked at my office with fresh eyes and decided to sort through my bookcase. Deciding which books to donate and which to keep is always a hard choice for me. Books are for me what shoes are to my eldest daughter. Still, I vowed, this time, I would be ruthless. I grabbed a paperback entitled, "The Dictionary of Cliches, Over 2,000 entries," off the top shelf. Easy, I thought, this is one easy choice since not using clichés has always been emphasized in writing courses, writers' magazines and my writers' groups. As writers, we're challenged, instead, to new ways of saying things rather than lazily using clichés.

Still, I was curious. After all, the author, James Rogers, had found clichés noteworthy enough to collect and publish them in dictionary form. I opened the book. Generally, Rogers agreed, clichés are fairly considered overworked and banal ways of expression. But, he asserts, "clichés can serve as the lubricant of language: summing up a point or a situation, easing a transition in thought, adding a seasoning of humor to a discourse."
I continued to read and quickly became immersed in the whole concept of what makes a cliché a cliché, where they originated, and how, if used wisely, they might actually enhance my writing. Here's some of what I learned.

What is a cliché? A cliché is language that's lost its originality, been overused over time, or a new phrase that's been repeated too often. All we have to do is watch the news and hear phrases like "connect the dots," or "at the end of the day," to know it isn't not only old phrases like "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" (first coined in 1546) or "footloose and fancy free" (first uttered by Will Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream) that qualify as worn-out expressions.

Origin of clichés. When I began reading the entries, I couldn't stop. Many, I found, were Biblical in nature ("Makes your hair stand on end, Job 4:13-14), while others were from great literature and poetry ("A horse of a different color," Twelfth Night – Shakespeare, once again). Here's a sampling of where some others began.
A-OK: Coined by a NASA official in 1961 to indicate that the mission was going well.
Between you and me and the lamppost: The first recorded use was by Charles Dickens (Nicholas Nickleby,1839). 
Cried all the way to the bank: Liberace used this phrase in his 1973 autobiography.
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth: A Latin version of this expression appeared in a work by St. Jerome in A.D. 420.
Throw the baby out with the bath water: Used more than once by George Bernard Shaw. One example was in 1909 (Pen Portraits and Reviews).

When to use clichés. Like Rogers, I believe there are instances where clichés are appropriate and can actually help move your story forward or help catch the reader's attention.

As titles. Consider the cliché "time to kill." John Grisham put that cliché to good use in his book, A Time to Kill. or, "saving grace," as evidenced by Julie Garwood's bestseller, Saving Grace, as well as, Burden of Proof (Scott Turow) and Stone Cold and True Blue, both by David Baldacci, one of my personal favorite mystery writers.

As a title with a twist. The title of this blog, for example, uses a cliché with a twist by substituting "cloud" with the word "cliché." This works especially well, I think, in an opinion humor piece. A title can also be twisted by substituting a synonym for one of the words in a cliché. Something like "Beyond the pail," or "make head or tale of it," or "the American weigh." I haven't written any of these articles, but I can picture the first as a woman with morning sickness, a compulsive liar as the second, or a look at obesity in the third, a really heavy (excuse the pun, please) topic right now. Another example is Jodi Picoult's book, "My Sister's Keeper," altered from the original cliché, "my brother's keeper."

As a way to make a point with as few words as possible. The columnist, George Will, for example, wrote an article in which he said the Chicago Cubs fans support their team "through thin and thin." In fiction, a term like "Trojan horse" can encompass an entire concept that could require several paragraphs to explain that could distract from the main fiber of the story.

As a tool to show minor characters without a lot of verbiage. Letting a minor character use some clichés can help develop a personality without a lot of description.

As a marker of a particular era. Allowing a minor character to use a phrase like "the cat's meow," helps the reader to visualize the 1920's.

Caution: It takes some skill to know "when to hold them and when to fold them," clichés, that is. For example, while they can help "flesh out" minor characters, allowing main characters to do the same creates a stereotypical, flat character, so avoid that "like the plague." So, "when in doubt, leave them out," or run them by your writers' group. For now, I'm going to put my cliché dictionary back on the shelf. It's earned a spot in my reference library.

Becoming a poet

It was our writers group Christmas party, and time to read the poems each of us was challenged to write and share with the group. We could write anything we wanted, but we were encouraged to write about ourselves.

There were so many good poems and so many different approaches to the writing of a poem. Some were profound, some funny, while some rhymed and some did not. We had epic poems and even haiku.

Like so many things in life, stepping outside our comfort zone can result in a wonderful experience, one full of discovery. Writing a poem was such an experience for me. I've shied away from this genre ever since a professor told me several of the "poems" I'd written for a class assignment were "interesting thoughts, but hardly poetry."

Some of the things I learned about writing poetry

• It's a thought provoking process. I found myself thinking often about the theme I wanted to explore, and as a result, how I saw my life.


• Words are so beautiful. And there were so many to choose from!


• Lacing words together is fun. It helped me to write down a list of words that related to my theme which was that of my life as an unfinished quilt.


• I want to try it again. Soon, very soon.


• The person most important to please is yourself. That is, unless you are planning to publish. Otherwise, there's great satisfaction in expressing your thoughts and emotions in poetry rather than prose


• It's surprisingly freeing. Knowing I can shape the words into any type of rhythm or spatial arrangement that holds meaning for me allows me to play in a way I hadn't expected.


• It helps to brainstorm a list of rhyming and related words. If you want to rhyme as I did, first list words that relate to the theme, topic, or emotion you want to express, then see if there's any words that relate or rhyme. *A list of the words I came up while brainstorming my poem are below

I write these thoughts as a complete poetry writing novice, but like that old cliche: "Every journey begins with the first step," I hope to write some more poems.Maybe even try one that doesn't rhyme.

Here's the poem I wrote for our Christmas party. I hope you like it even a fraction as much as I enjoyed writing it.

An Unfinished Quilt

Initial colors chosen by Another
Soft and gentle, pieced by my mother
Joined by greens, yellows, and blues
Fields and forests, nature’s hues.

More squares are added, some dark, some bright.
Deep reds, passionate purples, not always right
Stitched together now more as if by chance
But was it all planned or happenstance?

Dominated now by pink profusion
Whilst I stitch in dazed confusion
So many more patches to sew
I baste in haste to see it grow.

Unexpected stripes and patterns emerge
textures, values, shades, and facets converge
Yet it comes together, in joyous blend
Into a unique balance that will not end

Muted green, lavender, and lemon driven
Quieter tones are now a given.
Yet scarlets, cobalts, still fight for place
Oh, how long can they interface?

Now time to match and link
To ponder its pattern and think.
Examine it all for its symmetry of design
I stand back to view it as a whole, what made it mine?

*worn and warm, frayed around the edges
warmth and comfort, light and easy
color of the sun, border and stripes
symmetry of design, stained glass, mosiac
Interspersed shapes and colors
washed clean and new
viewed as a whole, yet distinct
seen from a distance
A burst of joy when cohesive and ends meet
texture/facets/value/fiber/blend
growing always, imperfect but yielding
a balance of colors, sizes, and shapes
new squares are added, the quilt grows larger
rip out the discordant parts
patch/match
swatch, scotch, botch, watch
lace, interface/interlace/place/grace/base/retrace/embrace/trace
slate/wait/abate/rate/dominate/placate