Writing with one hand behind my back . . .

Two strategies to share today for those (like me) with not enough time and not enough stamina to keep that writing project moving ahead:

Kim Switzer's journal cover
for her work in progress

1. Writer's Journal. I've often kept a travel journal for drawing and notes when we're on the road and access to a computer is difficult. But my attempts to start a journal to support a writing project have been less successful. Along comes Kim Switzer this morning with a lovely blog post (with pictures) on keeping a journal for your novel -- complete with character.

2. Formula writing. I no long want to look down on writing by using a formula. I just want to get some words on the page every day. So this morning's read comes from Facebook and a link to
Cynnara Tregarth's blog. She talks about the messy process of writing scenes out of which I mined this:

Book à Chapters. 

Chapters à Scenes. 

Scenes à Micro-scene.

Something happens in the micro-scene (cause), that leads to a series of effects (reactions) -- the character feels something, has a reflexive reaction, a rational action, and then speech.

Thanks to several others on ROW80 (A round of words in 80 days -- "the writing challenge that knows you have a life!"), I feel encouraged to write (even with very limited time and energy), that is to write at least 5 sentences every day and/or for 15 minutes, whichever comes first.

For the last several days, I've been able to write 350 words a day.

That's real progress. 

What do you do when you want to write but the words don't easily fall onto that paper?

A is for April

A is for April, another round of ROW80 begins today, as does the A-Z Challenge and a-poem-a-day to celebrate National Poetry Month.  So, first the poem:

"Anniversary"

Two camellia trees lean together,

like old friends, like lovers

who put roots down

when the house was new and filled with children.

Blossoms red and white litter the garden

an invitation to stroll here

as spring rounds another year, and

old friends tell stories of long ago.

Even an early morning rain

cannot take away these moments,

now memories, cherished, of a couple

who made a home 

filled with beauty and love.

Two Camilla Trees, Berkeley (Camp 2013)

We visited friends who live next to Berkeley, California, and who introduced us so long ago. We celebrated our reunion with dinner at Zaki's, Mediterranean food and music, haunting eastern style, and the most fabulous chicken/rice dish I have ever eaten -- Malouba (and I now have the recipe) with fresh mint lemonade (still searching for that recipe). The poem is for them.

Now for ROW80 which begins with ROW80 GOALS (April 1 - June 20).

WRITING:

--Write 100 words a day.

--Write a BLOG column once a week.

--Write a POEM a day for National Poetry Month (April).

--Complete A-Z CHALLENGE w/daily post (also April).Theme: Research for Rivers of Stone.

--Write AFTERWORD for Years of Stone and Standing Stones. Work by section to identify historical persons. Maybe use List of characters? How do other writers of historical fiction handle this issue?

--BEGIN research on Rivers of Stone. Read preliminary notes. OUTLINE. Write character sketches of major/minor characters. BUILD a timeline. PULL SCENES together. Make scene cards. Plot character arcs. Create SCHEDULE w/deadlines.

OTHER GOALS are more difficult for me to nail down.

·       

READING/CRAFT: Read at least one book and 2 magazines a month on writing craft. Reread PDF/Research files for Years of Stone and Rivers of Stone. Continue critting other writers at Internet Writers Workshop (NOVELS-L), at least 2 critiques each month and one subbed chapter each month.. Need to read Bound for Australia http://boundforsouthaustralia.net.au/

MARKETING/OUTREACH: 

·        WEEKLY: Use DuoLit daily to get marketing plan organized and to identify ACTION STEPS. Research marketing strategies and update Marketing Plan. Send out press release for Mermaids. Update author bio. Set up author website (Word Press). Pursue readings at Hastings, Book End, Barnes & Noble. Post book club invite/questions to website. Offer Mermaid Quilt freebie on GoodReads. 

PUBLISHING/SALES:  

·         Take Mermaid Quilt to WSQ Yard Sale (April 6). Publish Mermaid Quilt on Smashwords.   Track sales monthly for Mermaid Quilt on Amazon, CreateSpace.   Submit story and poems x 2 each month with new bio that includes The Mermaid Quilt.  Make a final round of indie presses for Standing Stones and Years of Stone (see list of 40 potential indie publishers). Set self-pub plan if no results by June 20. 

I think these goals are more specific, perhaps more measurable than in the past. We're still on the road until April 5, but then I will have an office again, my research materials, and a big screen for my little netbook. Whoopie. May ROW80 go well for you. Be tenacious! Make commitments! Write on!

I

April and poetry, etc, etc.

I write and no matter where I am,
or in which century,
each word builds story
as the doves chitter and sit on the garden wall
in this Tucson morning sun.
Already the mountain laurel and the marguerites bloom,
the wind chime tinkles softly,
and the palo verde glows green with spring.

April promises to be intense. I'm getting ready for the next round of ROW80 (A Round of Words in 80 Days), which runs from April 1 to June 21 by refining and setting my writing, research and publishing goals.

The A-Z Challenge also runs in April. This year my theme will be writing about research for Rivers of Stone. My characters will cross 19th Century Canada and the United States to reach Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River. Some people write their entries ahead of time, but I like the spontaneity of connecting my writing and reading to the letter-of-the-day. 

April is also National Poetry Month, and it's kind of fun to try to write a poem a day just for April. For me, writing fiction is a way of exploring story, history, characters, ideas, and working out conflicts, but poetry is a way of centering into the present.

Are you in?

Check these websites for more information:

A Round of Words in 80 Days at http://aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com/

A to Z Challenge at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

Ways to celebrate National Poetry Writing Month, started by the Academy of American Poets. See http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41

Of found mermaids and ROW80

We're on the road, but I still see mermaids everywhere.

This mermaid perches above two draft beer kegs at the Chart House in Crescent City, right by the sea. Her face is hidden, her delicate hair and fins fashioned of driftwood, a creature reclaimed from the sea, anonymous, maybe even the bones of the sea, here in this town so vulnerable to tsunamis.

Later today I'll go walking by the ocean, feeling again the pull of the waves and the sea, that tension between becoming and being. Perhaps writers are always caught in imagining something else, never quite 'here and now' but always drawn to the possible, the 'what if?' The tide turns and returns, the waves a constant sound of something just beyond my ken.

ROW80 UPDATE: Not much to report this week. I'm reading someone else's novel for quick comments. In the morning, I'm optimistic and writing, but I've set aside other ROW80 goals for now. We are on the road and I'm the primary driver. Is that an excuse? I only know that after driving 200 miles, I feel too tired to do much more than flop. We'll head down the California coast tomorrow and have a rest day today -- so later a walk along the beach but now it's time for writing. May your week go well.

Wallabies, editing and ROW80

Research is absolutely critical to writing good fiction.

I've never seen a real, live wallaby. But I'd read about them, looked at pictures, thought they were very interesting looking with their small, inquisitive faces, busy hands with quite useful claws, and those massive haunches. So I included one that Deidre spotted on the way to the Cascades Female Factory, though I found these animals, about the size of a dog, are mostly nocturnal and hunt for food or graze about at night.

Wallabies don't scuttle, though that's what I wrote. Back came a critique, thank goodness, from Les Denham, a writer in NOVELS-L, of the Internet Writing Workshop fame, someone who has lived in Australia and seen hundreds of wallabies. So I found this four-minute video of a Black-footed Rock Wallaby (by Walkaboutlad) that shows a bit more of how a wallaby moves.

Can I find a video of a wallaby running in the wild? Not yet. Lots of zoo shots of tame wallabies. Lots of footballers. Several fascinating videos of wallabies with babies in their pouches and one wallaby that simply stares at the camera. He looks ferocious. But I did learn that wallabies hop or bound. and so my one sentence is now a bit more accurate.


I still hope to visit Tasmania, otherwise known as 19th Century Van Diemen's Land, before Years of Stone is complete. I'm on my fourth revision, with perhaps a year's more edits to go. The sentence that reverberates for me is mostly attributed to Voltaire, something like: Striving for perfection can be the enemy of the good. I'm also staring the law of diminishing returns in the face.

ROW80 CHECK-IN. Next week, we go on the road, netbook stuffed in purse, on a 1,400 mile jaunt from snowy eastern Washington to balmy Tucson. They say you can drive this in about 22 hours. We'll go more slowly. I'm scampering like a wallaby to organize the packing, finish my volunteer PR work, and yet write every morning.

WRITING/RESEARCH: I still hope to finish my read through of Years of Stone by the end of this Round of 80 Days. I feel pretty good about the editing just now. My revision builds on new research about the Cascades Women's Factory and efforts to rewrite Deidre's character so she's less passive. I'm subbing to NOVELS-L and have gotten insightful and positive responses from Francene Stanley, Don McCandless, Holly Michael, Bob Smith, and Les Denham.

Also got a lovely new book on The Victorian Underworld by Donald Thomas and started pulling library books on the Hudson's Bay Company for Rivers of Stone for the trip across Canada this summer. And the biggest find: this photo from Margaret Muir's research-oriented website on Matthew Brady. This Australian author lives in Tasmania and is currently working on a story about Matthew Brady (1823-1843), a few years before my novels are set, but Brady, a bushranger, hid out in the hills above the Tamar River in Tasmania, exactly the kind of site I was looking for, though I want to find a hideout with caves. Still researching this, but what a picture. Margaret Muir is now on my "to read" list.

MARKETING/PUBLISHING: My first book club discussion for The Mermaid Quilt occurs this Thursday. I'm ready with lots of props and notes. More about that later. Haven't made progress on either GoodReads or Smashwords now that The Mermaid Quilt is off KDP, but it's on my to-do list.

May your week go well. Write on!

It's ROW80 Monday . . .Personality, Pinterest and Oh, My!

Missed Weds check-in and Sunday check-in, but the week ahead is looking good. My office only looks like half a bomb hit it. There's no snow on the ground outside. I survived SuperBowl, a 3-hour dental visit, ferrying folks to doctors, lots of late-night babysitting, and the insidious deadlines of volunteer work, with a little quilting thrown in -- for fun.

Three quick tips for writers this morning which come from circling the wagons -- and not writing.

Medieval Mermaids, France 1450-1470 (Hermitage)

• Read other blogs. Create a folder on bookmark menu bar in your browser. Call it whatever you like, maybe READ THESE BLOGS. Then bookmark other writers' blogs, especially those you find inspiring. Today's suggestion comes from a Write it Sideways! interview by Debra Eve with historical-fiction-with-an-edge writer Jeri Westerson. Her well-designed blog alone is worth the trip,  and she writes 10 pages a day!


• Set up a Pinterest folder just for writing ideas. Many writers are visually oriented. Why not take advantage of what appeals to you. Check out my Pinterest on mermaids or on the 19th Century just for fun. Some of these links take me to very unexpected places.


• Be willing to do research whenever a question arises. Follow your intuition. This week, I found a very useful "idea tree" that describes a range of emotions that far surpass my own. I'll use Parrott's  tree to flesh out my characters (see below). How did I get here? By completing just one more exercise in Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook.

ROW80 UPDATE: It's always about the writing, and this week, I've simply not written every day. Hit the wall. So, I worked on Maass' exercise on adding dimensions to characters to realize I don't really understand personality, emotion, character traits, etc.

Thinking about Maslow's hierarchy of needs may help as well, but I believe that people don't get stuck necessarily at one level before advancing to the next. For example, if I'm concerned about survival, Maslow posits that I can't be worrying about higher level issues (self-fulfillment). But the act of creating something pushes us to self-fulfillment in spite of being stuck elsewhere. Maybe I believe that we need to take risks to create -- nothing is a certainty.

Plutchik's Wheel of Emotion, 1980 (Wikipedia)

I was less sure about personality. After some research to define terms (and possibilities),I found some neat charts along the way. Like many other writers, I'm a visual person.

So this first chart by Robert Plutchik helped me to "see" possibilities. Wikipedia's summary suggested other research, but most helpful was the more linear chart of EMOTIONS BY GROUPS by Parrott.

I can use this to work a character through her/his reactions. If Deidre is afraid of something --  maybe something small like a spider, or something more nebulous, like fear of drowning, would she react with HORROR or ANXIETY?

Under HORROR, for example, Parrott lists Alarm - Shock - Fear - Fright - Horror - Terror - Panic - Hysteria - Mortification.  Any of these choices would help me develop a scene differently. And, under ANXIETY, Parrott lists Anxiety - Suspense - Uneasiness - Apprehension - Worry - Distress - Dread. And, I can ask, does this person tend  tend to respond positively or negatively, for each of these affects the character's thoughts and actions. Now, finally, I'm ready to write!

All of these 'categories' take me in far different directions, helping me to understand new depths in my character AND twist the plot.

ROW80 MARKETING UPDATE. Continuing to map out what's needed. Big achievement this week in keeping with that good advice that says to tackle the most intimidating task on your to-do-list, I subbed Years of Stone to the historical fiction category for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2013 literary contest. It's not too late. The contest closes February 22.

May your writing go well this week! Writers, write!

Wearing someone else's shoes . . . and ROW80

We'll be on the road for all of March, no set itinerary, just driving down from Spokane to Tucson, meandering, all the 'things' we need in the car, camping in a tent when we wish or sleeping over in a hotel. Somehow that appeals to me, that letting go of daily routine (sotto voice "and obligation"), stepping away from structure, and embracing the daily surprise that warmer weather will bring. I will miss our darling grandchild and family, but we are still going.

I will write every day, but that's nearly a given. When we come home from such a trip, all the clutter of our home greets us. My favorite books in a pile (his favorite books in a pile). My sewing projects and volunteerism (his sports). I cook (he pays the bills). When it's his turn to cook, we go out to dinner. Tuesday, movie day. We settle into routine like two left over sweet potatoes, not too dramatic, but cosy and comfortable.

So this week I'm in someone else's kitchen. Nothing I cook with normally can I find at first blush. I'd like to think I'm not too materialistic, but butter at room temperature? No. Mixing bowls, yes, but all metal. Everything matches beautifully, pots, dishes, glasses, as Kazantzakis wrote in Zorba the Greek, ". . . the full catastrophe!" No books piled up, except the ones we brought. I dread moving anything around and realize at heart I am not orderly at all. I'm reminded of the great disparity between the safari hotels -- and the public schools we visited in Africa, the warmth of the bricklayer's family, their music and singing the gift they gave us.

The kings and queens of medieval times did not live so well, no matter how much I admire their tapestries. How much is enough for Americans in a first world culture? I take far too much for granted. Even my simple life is not so simple, not even when I wear someone else's shoes.

ROW80 UPDATE: Today's update short and sweet for A Round of Words in 80 Days (see the challenge at http://aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com/ with check-in to track progress each Sunday and Wednesday:  Writing: Finished editing Section 1, Years of Stone, jumped to edit Section 2. Writing 400 words a day, 5 out of 7 days, without counting notes or blogs. Need to write on my travel blog (more about Africa).  Reading/Craft: Set goal of reading 3-5 ROW80 colleagues every day. So far, so good. Haven't cracked Peter Maas' workbook yet. Marketing: Signed up for a free webinair on marketing. Otherwise, delay, procrastination, avoidance, even with another small check from Amazon. ROW80 colleagues: May your writing week go well.

Photo of the day: A bit of January whimsey from my daughter's back yard here in Spokane.

Running late with ROW80 Check-in. . .

I feel a little like Alice down a rat hole. We're hanging out this week with a centenarian, a delightful lady with stories of the 1930s oil fields to share. Internet here works but not with my computer. I'm writing every morning, but then switch to the 'big' computer in the den for internet. So here's my ROW80 check-in:

Sunday's January 28th ROW80 progress this week:

• Writing: Wrote 5 out of 7 days. Finished edits about Deidre through Section 1 for Years of Stone and caught some sequencing issues (logical lapses fixed). Happily wrote new stuff but not the 500 words a day. Reformatted the Word file entirely (copy to WordPad then back to a new Word file) to remove weird spacings. Guess I have worked over this over too many times. Wrote about writing on Weds check-in (but late one day).
• Reading/Craft: Steady progress on Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. Ordered Peter Maas' workbook on writing a breakout novel. Read about 15 ROW80 colleagues since last Weds. Good stuff all around.
• Marketing/Publishing: Nada. Installed MailChimp on my travel blog at http://bethcamp.blogspot.com  but no 'campaign' yet. I think I'd like to set up some sort of PDF file as a freebie (this is on my travel blog, which by the way is getting double and triple the hits of my writing blog). Gave a copy of The Mermaid Quilt to an inspirational quilter, but that doesn't really count as marketing, though she does live in Connecticut.

ROW80 goals before next Sunday's February 4th check-in:

• Writing: Complete revisions on Section 1, Years of Stone, and begin revisions on Section 2. Complete all revisions by PNWA literary contest (February 22). Write 400 words a day 5 out of 7 days. Draft discussion questions for book club on The Mermaid Quilt. Draft PDF on Africa. Work on PowerPoint slide for presentation on African trip. Sunday ROW80 check-in, write about writing issues.
• Reading/Craft: Prep for Spokane Authors meeting first Thursday of February. Finish Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. Begin the Maas workbook.
• Marketing/Publishing: Got lots of information and strategies coming in, but I'm having a hard time deciding what would help most. OK I did volunteer to do a guest blog and so I'll write that up, confirm the topic and get it out before next Sunday. Need to read Literary Cafe and this equally nice Historical Fiction blog and post there. Need to post a review of Kate Grenville's The Secret River on GoodReads (which I really did admire for its beautiful writing).

No picture this time, but a 20-second video I took in Buenos Aires, Argentina, of a couple celebrating the tango on a Sunday afternoon in the funky little neighborhood of San Telmo. This is to remind us to dance with joy -- maybe with words -- but so we dance each day.

ROW80 Sunday Check-in

This month's Writer's Digest has an interesting article by Donald Maass, "Failure to Launch" (Feb 2013). He's telling writers that great fiction will sell, and he itemizes what specifically we should check to ensure we are writing enthralling fiction.

What drew me into the article, though, was my personal history with Agent Maass. Back in the day when I subbed my first novel, Mothers Don't Die, he sent me a short but personal note. He said very directly that he didn't see how my book would appeal to readers because of a pretty unsavory character (one of the good guys) who appeared in Chapter 1. The most on-target advice I've ever gotten. I smacked my head and put the draft in a drawer, ready to move on.

This month, I'm deep in revision of my second historical novel set in mid-19th Century, messing around with the motivation of a particular character (Deidre) who faints as easily as a misplaced semicolon.

Did Maass have some advice for me? He identifies three pitfalls in this article:  (1) Timid voices, (2) Untested characters, and (3) Overly interior or exterior stories. He then provides some practical exercises for each problem area, and one exercise fits exactly where I am.

He asks writers to consider the essential story problem from the point of view of the protagonist (my fainting female). Think about, he suggests, the protagonist's understanding of the beginning, middle, and end of the story. How is her understanding different by the end?

Writing out this exercise transformed the structure of Deidre's motivation and her self-awareness of the obstacles she faces in my story. Deidre's not fainting any more. So this experience ties in neatly with today's ROW80 check-in, for I'm making steady progress in revision, in reading about the craft of writing.

Writers: How's your week going? Any novel revising strategies to share? When all else fails, perhaps we just need to switch gears and do something entirely different, like take advice from Donald Maass. Did you know that lions sometimes sleep in trees?

Sleeping lion, Serengheti, Tanzania (November 2012)

Can writers revise motivation?

One of my major characters is a wimp. Deidre has worked as a teacher, but she lives in a time (mid 19th Century) when few opportunities existed for women, and she has landed, literally, in a prison colony where 10,000 men  vie for the attentions (and services) of 2,500 women. Lower class women found work as laundresses, cooks, servants, and prostitutes. Middle class women might find work as governesses, or teachers at girls' schools, or they might marry.

Orson Scott Card says in Characters & Viewpoint (106-107), look to motivation. If the writer does not show complex motivation, then the reader may simply assume stereotypes. So what are Deidre's motivations? her purposes, her loyalties? Where is she conflicted? What does she fear? What does she hope for? Why did she follow Mac here, to Van Diemen's Land, really? What did she learn on the four-month voyage here? What are her thoughts and her plans, her feelings and reactions? What is she NOT facing and why? What motivates her that she may not be aware of? Where does she draw a line? Where does she fight back?

Some 21st Century women still protect themselves with innuendo, by presenting ideas as questions, by deferring, by manipulating, by sacrificing. I'm running straight up against social convention, those rather strict Victorian codes that put women on a pedestal. And so Deidre drinks tea and faints, not at all the brave woman I want her to be. Yet.

Card says that motivation is at the heart of the story. If I change a character's motivation, I'm working at the deep structure of the story on issues I may not be aware of. But I will persevere.

Now to ROW80 (A Round of Words in 80 Days) that begins today for 2013.  This is my third round of 80 days, and I do see changes in my planning and writing behaviors. My 2013 Calendar has writing goals and action steps already planned throughout the year. This is a first! If you've read earlier posts, you know that I want to start the third book in this series (River of Stones set in the Pacific Northwest). If I don't start before, I will with NaNoWriMo in November, 2013. That's a commitment.

Tonight's ROW80 report will be short mostly because I'm not home. Even the keyboard is different. I'm babysitting a 7-month-old who has just gone down to sleep. She's so sweet, and I'm so tired. But I can report steady progress in drafting, editing, and for me a very large challenge, marketing. I don't care so much about learning how to sell as I do about connecting with readers, having people read my stuff.

Just this last week, I joined a local author's group that meets monthly. ROW80 has made me much more aware of how important studying the craft of writing is to my own growth as a writer. One of the joys of being a part of ROW80 has been learning from other writers  (equally true of this month's Ultimate Blog Challenge bloggers). 

Question: If you are a writer, what challenges have you faced in writing scenes that reveal your characters' motives? 

The photo is of a cactus lily that blooms in the winter. May your writing go well.

Reading and writing and blogging . . . challenges

Victorian Era Women

Last night, I started reading Kate Grenville’s The Secret River and was transfixed by her evocative writing that spelled out character and setting so perfectly. As I fell into her story and admired how beautifully she captures external and internal realities, I thought of a writing prompt:

We all have rich inner lives, informed by our experiences. Memories speak to us when we least expect it. So, what is dearest to each character in your current work in progress? Consider the senses, memory tied to particular time, person or place; life cycle events, childhood, adolescence, an embarrassing moment, a joyful time, music, dance. What would your character miss most of home? What memory most repels them? Freewrite for 15 minutes about one of your characters. Let the words flow -- scenes, dialogue, descriptions. Above all, consider memory. 

The reason for this prompt is that one of my female characters is very passive. She's always fainting. I think it means I don't understand Victorian era middle class women. I'm ok with blue collar and lower class women. Their dialogue sings to me. And I've worked with upper class folks who can sneer with a lifted eyebrow. Another book on my to-read-list is Jane Robinson's Unsuitable for Ladies: An Anthology of Women Travellers. If you have any suggestions about research that would help me understand Victorian women, please send it to me!

One sad part of being a writer that reads is that I cannot pick up a book without thinking about what strategies this writer used and what I might learn from this writer. Some books I start and cannot finish because of clumsy writing. Some potboilers I'm hooked from the very first page and cannot put the story down. So, here are my writing-related challenges for 2013. 

READING CHALLENGE.  I have enjoyed being a part of GoodReads this last year. Not only because I now have a 'hit list' of 'to reads' that matches my interests, but there's a whole online community over there with other writers/readers who talk about the books they love and review. My first challenge is to read 50 books in 2013 through GOODREADS Challenge 2013.

WRITING CHALLENGE.  ROW80 (A Round of Words in 80 Days) starts up again on January 7. I'm ready with tighter goals and more accountability. Sometimes this is a little scary, but the daily, weekly goals help me keep focused, especially as new projects beckon and I don't know where to fit them in! 

My main focus right now is reading (and taking notes on) Years of Stone with an eye to catch plot holes and minor editing along the way. But Deidre's character now grates. Does she have to simper, sigh, and faint? And drink tea? I know she is grittier, but it just doesn't come through. Aargh! I will complete the above exercise for Deidre.

This 1845 portrait of Angelina Grimké, a US abolitionist and activist for women's rights, who moved from the South to Philadelphia, shows so much character (source Harvard University Open Collections).

ULTIMATE BLOG CHALLENGE. This is something new -- do you like these kinds of challenges that motivate you with daily prompts? The A-Z Blogging Challenge last year was fun and useful. So I signed up for this one too. The Ultimate Blog Challenge runs just for the month of January -- and it got me to write today's entry!

The image of Victorian Era Women came from Victorian Era Women.

Let us travel to Zanzibar . . .

Forodhoni Park, Zanzibar

Let us travel to Zanzibar,

wander the streets in Old Town,

past open air stalls, beaded crafts,

past women draped in brightly colored kangas,

down cobbled streets edged with

plumeria, tree ferns, and flamboyant trees 

filled with flame-red blossoms. 

The music of a language we don't understood

follows us to Forodhoni Park,

where men wear long white aprons and

lean over open pit fires to turn skewers of fish.

The boats come in from the sea, safe.

When the day is done,

we’ll return to our rented room,

draw the mosquito netting close,

and tell stories. We’ll remember

the sweet tastes of fresh coconut,

the smell of cinnabar and mint tea.

As I look at the pictures we took in Zanzibar, there's so much that is hard to put into words. We're home now, it's snowing here in Spokane, and Africa seems very far away. But the writing focuses everything else and it's time to close down this Sunday with my ROW80 check-in: 

• WRITING: pretty good progress on reading/making notes for Years of Stone; lots of work on Author Info sheet (bio, market plan, deadlines).Can't quite blog daily re the Africa trip, but a few poems are starting to emerge, posted on this blog (See more photos on the Travel Blog here). 
• READING/CRAFT: Goodreads turning out to be very useful in identifying books I really do want to read. I made a commitment to post reviews for the books I do read. So far, so good. Just finished M. J. Rose's The Book of Lost Fragrances and now must try to read J. K. Rawlings' The Casual Vacancy in three days (can't renew at the library as it's a new book).And The Writer mag just came in.
• MARKETING/PUBLISHING: Taking a dive here and hope to submit by Jan 5, thus avoiding the black hole of the holidays when no one wants to read anything from anybody. Google+ is picking up steam a bit (or I'm learning about circles). All together, it's been a pretty good week, birthday breakfast and food poisoning notwithstanding. 

To all ROW80 participants, may the end of the year go well for you and your writing projects!

ROW80 Update . . . Cinderella redux

I put first dibs on the crust when I was growing up. No one else wanted to eat that often dried out, unwanted end piece. Except me. I was voraciously hungry all the time. At 11 and 12, I could out-eat my 6' 4" stepfather who worked in a steel mill and wore steel-tipped boots to work every day.

I'm thinking about Cinderella as a muse for writers, thanks to Elizabeth Anne Mitchell from ROW80. There she is, Cinderella, sitting in the ashes, hoarding her crusts, just one more starving, unpublished writer, hoping for transformation, that wave of a magic wand, yet bemused by the array of choices facing her just-finished novel.

Anne R. Allen's excellent article on the state of e-publishing/publishing in general, "Indie Publishing in 2013: Why We Can't Party Like It's 2009," intimidates as much as it informs. Amazon's recent spate of changes, Allen intimates, marginalizes the small, indie writer.

After what I thought was a careful comparison of Smashwords to Amazon as e-publishers, I chose Amazon to trial publish The Mermaid Quilt and Other Tales, largely because of their stand on DRM (the digital rights management debate). E-pubbing on Smashwords, with its multi-platforms, could allow the unscrupulous to carry off all those hundreds of writerly hours of hard work to new markets.

So I learned how to set up Kindle and paperback formats via Amazon (KDP and CreateSpace) and ventured out into the big marketplace. I'm still learning -- and will re-e-pub (if there's such a word) my collection of short stories with Smashwords and Kindle (taking a lesson from another ROW80 Colleague, Alberta Ross), on February 18, 2013, my personal liberation day from KDP Select.

If this Cinderella is sitting in the ashes of the fireplace, tearing her hair out and gnashing her teeth, it's because all of this is prologue. Publishing The Mermaid Quilt was a trial balloon to help me decide if I should e-pub my historical fiction, now up to two books. And the writing goes well on my main works in progress: I'm just finishing a "final" read through of Standing Stones, editing critically one last time. Do I sub to indie publishers? Do I self-publish? I honestly cannot decide. Your two cents???

Brown spotted hyena taking a mud bath

ROW80 UPDATE: WRITING: Looks like I'm on track to finish reading Standing Stones (95,000 words) and Years of Stone (80,000 words) for continuity before December 31st. Yipee! Or should I say Yahoo! I've been able to blog most days about the trip to Africa (despite a nasty cold) in my travel blog, On the Road Again,  MARKETING: Slow but steady. This week will write a press release and have posted some funny tweets re mermaids and stocking stuffers. CRAFT and PUBLICATIONS: Doing fine with reading writing magazines/books. The latest Writer's Digest reports that several "breakout" authors went through 40-60 submissions. So, I think I've only done about 20. Maybe time to dive in again. Standing Stones made me laugh and cry this week. I still believe in this story.

May your writing week go well.

After Africa . . . what?

Suitcases unpacked, photos downloaded, jet lag nearly overcome. The cold I caught on the airplane still hanging around. Three weeks in Tanzania, Africa, gave me a big break from writing. No netbook; no computer. No notebooks. One travel journal and a camera. Sixteen people, a tour guide, and two drivers. 4:30 am wake-up calls for "game drives" through three of the most beautiful national parks and game preserves in Tanzania.

Game Drive in Serengeti National Park: Wildabeest & Zebra Migration

Altogether, the trip was unforgettable and not just for seeing zebras, lions, jaguars, monkeys, baboons, wildabeest, and giraffes in their natural habitat -- and the beginning of the Great Migration. Yes, that's one of our jeeps in the photo, right in the middle of wildabeests and zebras crossing the road.

Our group (in 10 days) also visited a coffee plantation, a Maasai compound, an elementary school in Keratu, and a Iraqw family (brickmakers). We sang, danced, learned a little Swahili, talked, ate, and took photos. Lots of photos.

The trip changed my perceptions of Africa. I'm trying to assimilate what we experienced in a daily post  of photos, videos and commentary in my travel blog! So head on over if you want to see elephants eat a Baobab tree, or baby lion cubs playing with their mom -- or in coming days, Maasai women dance a welcome dance.

For this trip to Tanzania did give me a wonderful break from writing, but now it's time to get back to work.

ROW80 UPDATE:  

• WRITING: Now that the first draft of Years of Stone is complete, I'm rereading Standing Stones (the first book in this trilogy) with new eyes, section by section, with particular attention to character arcs and tension. Then I'll jump back to Years of Stone, hopefully for final revisions. The deadline for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association's literary contest is February 22, 2013. I would like to be ready!
• CRAFT/READING: Setting weekly goals seems to help me keep on track with specific action steps. So here, I'm making steady progress in reading writing mags and currently working through Bell's Plot & Structure.  Is anyone else on GoodReads? I'm finding them very useful in identifying good historical fiction and currently am reading T. C. Boyle's San Miguel (literary fiction) and Annelie Wendeberg's The Devil's Grin (popular fiction), a story of a female doctor and Sherlock Holmes, set in Victorian London (sort of my era). 
• MARKETING: As a somewhat terminally shy person with an outgoing style, I find it difficult to promote my own work. But by keeping this goal of developing a marketing plan and testing it with my collection of short stories (i.e., The Mermaid Quilt), I'm finally finding specific steps to take here too. One example: Brian Johnson's "How to Launch a Book". So that if I do self-publish my historical fiction, at least I'll have more than motivational pats on the back. And three people from the Africa trip expressed interest in my writing! A writer from the Internet Writers Workshop sent a press release to everyone on his e-mail list. I may try this.
• SOCIAL NETWORKS: When people comment on a blog posting, do you respond right on the blog? In the past, I've tried to reciprocate with comments on the person's blog, but interactivity, that is responding directly to people's posts, is another way to connect with readers. Twitter is starting to feel more comfortable and by gradually "following" other writers, I'm learning how to promote my work without being too obnoxious (I hope!). 

Long story short. Now it's time to hop on Twitter and Facebook and find out what other ROW80 writers are up to. I still feel that participating in ROW80 has been so helpful this last year. May your writing go well.

October 21: Woman Weaver

Huipil pronounced whee-peel

Young girl weaving huipil, Antigua, Guatemala (2001)

Since the beginning,

I have seen my mother 

weave huipil.

She would set me 

to sorting colorful threads 

while I watched  

mountains and birds take shape

under her fingers. 

The women weavers,

chattering softly in Spanish,

worked around us, 

all leaning on the leather belt

of the backstrap loom.

Only when I was thirteen

Did I begin to understand

What it meant to wear huipil:

I became the center of the universe

as I slowly pulled the huipil over my head

and emerged transformed, a woman,

between heaven and the underworld,

guardian of the past and the future,

keeper of my culture, weaver of huipil.

Huipils are traditional garments designed by men but woven and worn by Mayan women all through MesoAmerica. I took the picture of a young huipil weaver in Antigua, Guatemala, in 2001, while staying there in the summer, a break from teaching. Each village has a slightly different design, but the symbols are generally of nature, fantastic birds and flowers, or geometric mountains and birds. I treasure three huipils of my own to remember this time in Guatemala.

Octpowrimo's poetry prompt today was to write a poem about whether your life would go smoother if you would simply go with the flow -- Weave and flow. Once I read the word 'weave', though, I was lost in memories of Antigua. Read what others have written HERE or on Twitter @octpowrimo   More about huipils here.

Bird Huipil, Lago Atitlan, Guatemala, 2001

ROW80 (Round of Words in 80 Days) UPDATE:  The Quilt Show is over today! Maybe 4,500 attendees and over 600 fabulous quilts. I trashed my feet walking and looking and dreaming about quilting. Worked the Boutique during rush with a high tech cash register. Programs were great! Now I collect survey info and plan for next year.

WRITING: By making the chart, I actually wrote on my wip 4 out of 7 days, and am still holding to a poem a day for Octpowrimo (a poem a day for the month of October). I'm learning that if I write poetry, I don't have so much time for my wip. Must do/will do one critique today for NOVELS-L (else I am banished for the group for not doing two critiques this month).

READING: Slower progress in reading James Scott Bell's Plot & Structure, so I'm downsizing my goal to 2 chapters a week. Still making a steady dent (one magazine a day) in that pile of unread material. Posted a review in Goodreads for Kate Grenville's The Lieutenant, an absolutely engrossing read that's set, of course, in colonial Australia. What I appreciated most is that the conflict was mostly inner and mostly moral, leading me to ask what moral dilemmas my own main characters face and with what commitment. Feeling more comfortable with Twitter and holding to daily reads of what others have written.

MARKETING: Goals met for Marketing this week. In some ways, here I face the biggest challenge (is anyone else a shy writer?). But I'm pursuing a book group reading for January (just picked up my courage and asked! They said yes), and will also start attending an author's monthly lunch in December. I distributed mermaid bookmarks at the quilt show. While on Goodreads, I discovered Mike Lopez left a lovely review of The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales!  Now time to reset that chart and get to work on the critique!

May your week go well.

October 17: San Miguel de Allende

Who could forget walking your cobblestoned hills,

the surprise of history in carved wooden doors

and dark, aged, stone Gothic churches,

the cacophony of market day,

the wonder of dancers at fiesta

with fireworks strapped on their backs,

spiraling stars through the crowd?

The flakes of pastry that clung to our fingers,

the sweet smell of rosemary and marguerite from our garden,

as we sat on the patio roof of our rented house,

watching the sky turn pink with memory?

San Miguel de Allende (Rosewood)

Today's Octpowrimo poetry prompt is inspired by Maria Ranier Rilke's reflections on Venice and Florence and asks us to bring a place to life. Simply that. I remembered our days in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, when all was new. These are cherished memories. Read what others have read HERE.

ROW80 Weds Update: Inspired by how other writers participating in ROW80 (A Round of Words in 80 Days) report their progress, I made a weekly chart to show this week’s goals only and can report (Yahoo!), that in spite of deadlines and commitments everywhere, I’m writing daily on my work in progress, writing a poem daily for Octpowrimo, reading James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure, and posting in Twitter. Biggest challenge this week was to work on the marketing plan. Very slow going here, but because I am accountable Weds and Sun, I took the plunge and pitched a reading to a writing group. Thank you!  May your week go well.

October 14: Reflection

I could avoid looking in the mirror

or looking within, but not what I see

when I look at you, daughter of my heart,

from my flesh and from my bones.

I cherish this old photo taken in San Francisco,

just after I learned you were resting in my womb.

I remember longing for you, daughter,

the dream of night visions realized.

Today, you bless your own child with love,

one generation and, as the poet says,

“Joy on joy,” now two, sweet reflections.

Today's prompt from Octpowrimo simply asks us to look at our own reflection, and if that is too difficult (as evidenced by my frequent breaks from writing this morning), to reflect on Eric Hoffer, "With some people solitariness is an escape not from others but from themselves. For they see in the eyes of others only a reflection of themselves." So the prompt goes: What I see when I look in your eyes. There are some 50 of us trying to write a poem a day. To read what others have written, click HERE.

ROW80 UPDATE: Skipped Weds update. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by travel preparations and the quilt show (this coming week and then done!). When the "to do" list is too long, time management gurus say to tackle the hardest task, the one you least want to do. So yesterday I sewed secret pockets in my two travel pants.

BUT the good news is I have begun working through  Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. A chapter a day. This process feels like it's more connected to the revision I want to do, even if the coming three weeks in November mean I will be far from home or computer. Still have two critiques to do for NOVELS-L. But I am writing a poem a day (and reading what others have written, sheer creativity!). Bell says set a writing quote for each day and then stick to your writing until you achieve it. I need to hear those words, though I'm setting goals, not a word quota  -- yet. 

And progress on yet another sideways marketing goal: gain skills on Twitter. Yep. I'm twittering. Twitter posts take me to very useful articles on writing craft -- and connect me with other writers. If you twitter, try @bluebethley  May your week go well.

October 7: Mermaids for free

ALERT: Just for today, October 7, my collection of short stories, The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales, is FREE on Amazon (KINDLE only) at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090VHKBC   I'm hoping for a few reader reviews. Shameless self-promotion I know, but I'm trying to learn about marketing. Slowly!

Now for today's poem. The prompt comes from Octpowrimo (click to read other writers) and asks us to write a poem about friendship.

My Best Friend

Our daughters played together first.

Your slashing New York wit scared me, but

I found you work editing a hundred-page

horror of a manual on springs and coils.

It paid well. When a teaching job opened,

I spoke for you. You already had a reputation.

Our offices were next to each other. At coffee time,

one of us would thump the wall.

At department meetings, I kicked your shins

when it was time to be quiet.

You taught me how to argue.

Our daughters grew up, each finding haven in our houses.

We live in different states now, sisters still. 

One day we will sit on the porch

of a run-down retirement cottage facing the sea,

aging mermaids with ear buds tuned to Mick Jagger.

SUNDAY ROW80 UPDATE. Slow going this week, but the 40-page program for the Quilt Show is done! Only the proof on Monday, then 4,000 copies. Now to my 'real' goals:  

WRITING: So far, so good on writing a poem a day. Best is earlier in the day before reality intercedes. I feel a bit scrambled on my main wip, though. I circle what must be done. Am I ready for true revision, this being my third time through? I work on writing exercises and am seduced by research. I did find a new way to get into the imagery of places I have not visited. I make a table in Word with images on the left and my comments (and source) on the right. When I slow down and really look at the image, I learn about what my characters might see close up. Birds, kelp on rocks, the slant of a wave. I still need to diagnose what's missing -- plot holes, character flaws. But my progress here is nothing measurable.

READING: OK slow going here, but I did read one magazine. Not good enough. Finished a novel (JANE by Robin Maxwell) and another for review (SECRETS by Rick Bylina). Also pulled down several more books to review from Review Seekers on Facebook. Now to write Rick's review -- and at least two crits for writers on NOVELS-L on the Internet Writing Workshop.

MARKETING. I really don't like this part, but I will persevere. Some successes to report. I'm more comfortable on Twitter, following the mantra of reading and posting 2x a day. It's kind of exciting to find writing-related articles so easily. Most say limit the time (and I agree). 10 minutes. If the articles are really worthwhile, I return to them . . . later.  

I actually lost my draft marketing plan somewhere. Is that a joke? But I've started a new one AND because of what folks online have said about reviews being important, I took the plunge and signed up The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales for a free day, just for today, October 7. Already, by 8:30 am, I've "sold" 34 books. Maybe someone will post a review (that's my goal). I learned you can't be picked up by Kboards (a marketing goal of mine) unless you have at least 5 reviews. Aargh, what writers have to do!

May your week go well.

ROW80: Going South

'Tis time. The Canada geese are heading south this morning, lifting up from the nearby wetlands; their cries begin my morning. That bite in the air says snow will fall before the end of the year.

October 1st begins the next Round of Words (ROW80), my second. Participants set measurable goals for the next 80 days and then report to the group via blog twice weekly -- Mondays and Weds. We'll read each other's progress reports, cheer wildly, and go back to work. I'm still a ROW80 newbie as the last session was my first. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment was finishing the rough draft of Years of Stone AND actually e-pubbing a collecion of short stories (just to learn how).

And so I post my goals for the coming three months. It's all about the writing. It's all good. You can jump in here!

My ROW80 goals for October 1st - December 20: 

WRITING:  Complete edits for Years of Stone (pov shifts, authorial intrusion, repeated words) and revision (character depth, conflict, more sensory detail). Work on back story to develop more fully realized characters throughout. Write a poem a day for OctPoWriMo. Read Standing Stones and make notes for revision. By January, I’d like to begin researching Rivers of Stone. My goal is to write the best story I can. The result may not be literary fiction, but it will be my best. Keep one writing session each week for WRITING IT DIFFERENT.

READING/OUTREACH: Each month The Writer and Writer’s Digest arrive. Each month the magazines wind up in a safe “to read” stack (now a backlog of 40 magazines). I’m challenging myself to read 15 of these magazines a month. Blog weekly on some inspiring writing skill (WEDS WRITING WORKOUT). Commit to Sunday and Weds updates for ROW80 – and read and comment on 10 other ROW80 bloggers weekly. Participate weekly on FB (Writer Unboxed, Fellow Writers, Reviewers) and Twitter. Other reading: 3 novels a month (and post reviews on GoodReads).

AGENT SEARCH/MARKETING:  Revise query, synopsis, and send Years of Stone out to 3 potential agents a month. Identify key elements of a marketing plan and draft mine. Develop book group questions.          

Sunday morning . . . early.

It's 4:30 am. A motorcycle revs up and burrs through the night, the sound irrevocably splitting my eyes open. And I begin think what to do -- meetings, public relations projects, deadlines, and the marketing plan (when all I want to do is stay home quietly and write).

I open up my e-mail to find Karen Huber's post about stillness. The Power of Pause. Emptying the mind. Lovely evocative photographs that remind me we can find quiet.

This week I subbed a new opening chapter for Years of Stone to the NOVELS group on the  Internet Writing Workshop and got some generous and helpful feedback. My book now opens at the moment people abandon ship. Cries and screams. Crashing waves. A tenuous rope holds ship to shore. Sailors carry children on their backs and pull their way to safety. Women cling to the rope. A few -- terrified and cold to the bone -- can't hang on and are pulled away in the sea. And the ship goes down.

I found this photograph online of women in 1860 at Scratching Sydney's Surface and am struck by how unique each woman's face is. Of course, they would be, just as we are today, but I have to work hard not to generalize the past, as if all women had that patina from Romantic painters. But they did not. These early suffragettes ultimately brought women the right to vote. Their determination can be seen in their faces, even as their clothing reveals adherence to Victorian codes of dress and decorum.

ROW80 Update: Sadly missed Weds check-in but I have made some progress in writing, reading, and research. Marketing? Less so. Our major quilt show comes up in October with about 5,000 attendees. Should I invest in bookmarks???