Sunday check-in: More on e-Publishing

Sometimes, regardless of our best writerly efforts, a dose of nasty self-doubt arrives. So I'm checking in to say that tenacity, perseverance, and sheer stubbornness are needed. As well as heart. Always.

My last two weeks have been a grand experiment in e-publishing. I can report the whole process takes far longer than I anticipated.

1) Is the project truly ready? Think write, rewrite, edit, re-edit, and then reread again. And I'm not just looking for typos.

2) Have the formatting guidelines been followed? As my mother would say, "Oofta!" Word puts hidden symbols in where I would least expect. Even downloading the Kindle template (which saves slower than a sloth in August) did not help UNTIL I saved my file in Wordpad and copied it over. Another wrinkle: Once the Kindle version was ready, I popped over to CreateSpace. Guess what: Another template to download AND another formatting session to go through. Only AFTER I completed this second formatting session did I learn I could have started with CreateSpace and created a Kindle version with one click -- after my CreateSpace version was complete.

3) Is that cover really copyright free? This question arises AFTER the writer is completely happy with overall design (image, font, layout, etc). Using someone else's image without permission is a simple no. Using a public domain image is ok -- according to Wiki Commons, if the original artwork is older than 70 years -- but NOT OK according to Wiki Art Gallery. Then, consider technical details:  Kindle liked my cover image because it easily fit one page. CreateSpace did not IF I use their cover creator because that template uses TWO pages (front and back). So, I now have a pretty blue ocean wave for the print version of The Mermaid Quilt and Other Tales. And that's OK, for this is a learning process.

See that picture of joy? That's my dear grandchild, Leda, just 11 weeks old. One hug from her and I'm ready to go again!

4) For print publication, is the final copy really ready? Preview is possible online, but paper copy is recommended for that final, final preview. And that's where I am, now awaiting paper copy from CreateSpace, due sometime the first week of September.

Than I revamp this website and jump back to work on the trilogy: revising Standing Stones or starting research on Rivers of Stone, while waiting for first reader feedback on Years of Stone. And then it's truly time to decide whether to e-pub or sub to small indie presses.

I'm sharing all this to build up to the reality of this Sunday check-in. I haven't written a word for two weeks. Not any words that move any story forward. I've made progress in every other area (reading about the writing craft, building a marketing plan, working on the e-publishing, participating in ROW80, and even critting on the NOVELS-L list of the Internet Writing Workshop), but not a poem, a story, or a plot outline.

I miss the writing.

Read the accomplishments of other ROW80 writers here

Weds Yahoo! I'm live on Amazon!!!!

Today was pretty exciting. The Mermaid Quilt & Other Tales went live on Amazon, proving that pure dogged tenacity does work. Sometimes.

After waffling over whether I should or shouldn't e-pub, I decided to put up a collection of short stories and poems. True, I couldn't get two images included in the final document, but I WAS able to format to Kindle standards. My next step is to learn how to publish on CreateSpace so that IF anyone did want a paper copy, that is possible.

You can click on the image or the title to visit Amazon and "look inside" to read the first story, if you like.

This whole process has taught me so much about formatting. I still can't quite believe that my stories are 'out there' for others to read. Right now I'm feeling pretty darn grateful to everyone who weighed in on the cover. I love the results! Romantic. A little mysterious. Hopefully inviting!

Participating in ROW80 has been a useful process for me.  Not only have I met other writers and seen how they approach these twice-weekly check-ins, but people have been very generous in advice and in sharing their thoughts about writing. By participating, we write ourselves into a sense of community, and I appreciate that universal caring of craft.  But the writing comes first and the goals and weekly check-ins push me to clarify what I really want to do. So, thank you ROW80!

ROW GOALS:

WRITING: I will reread Standing Stones and analyze it for revision (1 month). Still waiting for first reader feedback on Years of Stone. By the end of November, I'd like to begin researching Rivers of Stone.

READING: Each month The Writer and Writer's Digest arrive. Each month I dutifully read 10% and put the magazine in a safe "to read" stack. I'm challenging myself to read both of these magazines cover to cover and to use at least one article to strengthen writing or revision skills. Yes, I rip the magazine up and file selected articles by topic. But now I want to USE the information.

MARKETING: OK this is way more complicated than I thought. The least I can do is devise a plan -- this week.

PUBLISHING: Get The Mermaid Quilt up on POD through CreateSpace (maybe 2 weeks).

Quote of the day: "I wake up at 5 a.m., when very little threatens to distract me -- the hell if I'm gonna cruise around the 'interweb' at that hour when I'm giving up sleep." Jonathan Evison in "How to Take Your Fiction to the Next Level (The Writer, September 2012, p. 30).

How easily are you distracted by the 'interweb' when you begin writing?

Last Word on Covers . . .

The elusive cover floated just outside of my reach. Weds check-in brought lumps of coal (worthy and appreciated), but now I faced empty sheets of watercolor paper. Unused brushes. Expensive cover art that hinted at what could be!

And then Lee McAulay, a wonderful historical fiction writer from ROW80, suggested checking Wiki Commons for images in the public domain. And there she was, the mermaid for my cover! Of course, my editing friend from Oregon trounced me for using pedestrian fonts, BUT that only meant another several hours of trying this and that.

My goal remains to go live by the end of August via Kindle. Any comments re the cover are appreciated!

I can report that working on the Kindle edition of The Mermaid Quilt definitely triggered another, very different part of my brain. I have conquered (I think) the formatting, wrote the blurb, and have just the ISBN to figure out, the author bio for Amazon to write, and then the acid test of uploading and waiting to see how it all worked. This is not an easy journey, testing skills I didn't know I had -- with promises of more to acquire re marketing.

ROW80 keeps me focused. As we wind down through these last hot days of August, ROW80 challenges me to set monthly goals for September. And I'm dithering a bit for I'm between projects. Years of Stone (70,000 words, historical fiction set in 1840s Tasmania) will go out before the end of the month to potential agents. I have two months before the great disruption (month-long trip without computer), so what to do? The next book (Rivers of Stone) will take on the Great Pacific Nor'west, also in the 1840s, and involves plunging into lots of research, outlining, freewriting, in other words, starting from the beginning -- though I know my characters, setting, and have a few thousand words as starters.

What works best for you between projects?

Weds Check in . . . and Covers . . .

Every day I'm seeing a few more leaves turning that pre-fall yellow, just at the tips of trees. 90 degree weather, but these hints of fall are here. And what am I doing this week but obsessing about covers.

So far, I've learned that the three key elements of a 'good' cover are 1) title really large and in different font than that for the author, 2) author also with large font (no room for modesty here), and 3) an eye catching image. Startling. Make the person want to 'open' the e-book. Dear hubby wants me to go with original artwork (no, no, no, no). Shutterstock has some interesting images.


Here are the two latest for votes, if you please.  And do you like either of the earlier covers better?


Dare I say that the formatting for Kindle is done? Yes!

Did I write that blurb for the back of the book? Yes! Only because of  ROW80 am I reporting progress for the Weds check-in.

Now to see what others have done -- and to wish everyone well for the coming week. Mea culpa, mea culpa. I fear no progress is being made until this cover issue is resolved.

Sunday night . . . short and sweet.

As the first trees begin to yellow, just at their tops, and the quilting stores put out those rich orange and brown fabrics, I slowly realize we're heading closer into Fall. The ROW80 weekly goals really should be bigger picture goals, for an 80-day window, so by Weds, I hope to refine some writing goals that will take me through the end of the year (and snow).

ROW80 Update: These last few days I'm reading lots about Kindle guidelines, moving ever closer to e-pubbing. Argh! Those little Word codes are everywhere! But progress is being made. The edits are done. The sequence of stories is done. Decisions about the cover are in the works. A graphic artist offered to help, and I'm learning much as we go along. Of course, I did fall in love with a wonderful cover, but the copyright is not accessible. I can't even bring myself to put the picture here (the artist lives in China).  So it's back to the drawing board, literally. But if all else is ready . . . then what's a little picture?

I took this photo in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, a folk art mural of the holiday each February 2 that honors Yemanja, the siren goddess of the sea. All the stores close and the people walk down to the shore with little boats they'll fill with candles, flowers, and gifts of alcohol and fruits. They place the boats in the sea and sing and dance all night. The boats float out, the candles winking between the waves. All these celebrations very far from my keyboard, but I have memories of the music and the dancing. And maybe one day, I'll paint.

Weds check in . . . for Mermaid Covers

This week balanced moments of euphoria with dark thoughts. Well, maybe not that dark. I used i-stock as recommended by a writer from the helpful Internet Writing Workshop to find the perfect cover, only to discover that photograph I fell in love with would cost about $278. Not this time.

So my challenge to you, dear readers, is to give me some feedback. Which of these two covers do you prefer? 

The book is a collection of ten short stories (and a like number of poems) about mermaids -- historical, cross-cultural, gothic, and a tad of magical realism. 

Which cover grabs you, invites you in, makes you want to pick up this soon-to-be e-book?

The photos come from a summer trip to southern Mexico. I can't use a picture of my mermaid quilt without violating copyright, and truthfully, I have lost confidence in my drawing abilities, even if I can still paint large cartoons on walls to the delight of small children.

Now for this week's ROW80 Weds check-in, just 12 hours late.  

I can report steady progress. The edits are done entirely for Years of Stone. Gasp! Next week, I'll be reworking the synopsis and query and sending it out. Just two stories remain to edit for The Mermaid Quilt, the sequence of stories/poems is set, and I'm chopping out two stories that don't quite feel finished. Then I tackle Amazon's amazing guidelines for e-pubbing (yes, I'm using their template). 

Finally, I've had the chance to read other participants on ROW80. Not quite all of them, but enough to feel these are serious writers who, like me, are writing between other commitments. Yahoo! Unfinished work? A story to send out by Sunday.

Meanwhile, I shall hold my breath and hope for your reaction to these covers.
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Just in case you wish to see what other ROW80 writers are doing, click here.

Sunday night musing . . .

August. Too darn hot! It's nearly 8 pm, time for a walk up the hill, through a quiet suburban neighborhood, past a tidy row of houses, too tidy for me, and then along a wetland where the ducks will gather on a greenish pond, tails up as they bob heads down for dinner. Each night the moon has risen a little fuller. Maybe tonight the moon will be transparent and a cooling breeze will lift my spirits.

Writing only happens very early in the morning, and so far, I've reached this week's goals for editing Years of Stone; I plan to finish the final section in the coming week. But I didn't touch the short stories at all, though I did find a wonderful story about a quilt made in 1887 (or so).

A tailor in Helena, Montana, sewed this hexagonal quilt with scraps from men's suits, ties, women's gowns both from the upper class and ladies of the evening. The quilt is gorgeous -- paper pieced, with yellowing newspapers never cut out, a few confirming the date of the quilt. Here's a picture of this treasured quilt. I want to write about this unfinished project with bits of cloth from so many lives, all intersecting in unexpected colors and patterns. 

What do quilting and writing have in common? Tenacity! A sense of purpose. A belief that we can make something that will be of use, perhaps of pleasure. Picking up a needle is soothing, the skills to quilt every bit as complicated as those needed to write. Quilts and words can comfort. The process of writing and quilting is every bit as rewarding as the final project; both are often made to give away.

Goals for the coming week, by August 13:
1. Finish Section 3 edits for Years of Stone.
2. Finish final edits for The Mermaid Quilt.
3. Read other participants in ROW80 and persevere.
4. Send out ONE story to an online market.

May your own writing go well.

Weds Check In . . . August 1

Crazy world out there. Bombs. Shootings. Road rage.Sometimes I think writing is a way to create a world that's separate from all that, though my story has darkness as well. What history doesn't? I'm buried in edits, slogging my way through, but encouraged by first readers' reactions, positive enough that I'm back on the fence, agent or self-pub all over again!

Still July went by in a flash. My little tiny baby grandchild (now 8 weeks old) has grown by a third, coos and gurgles, and nearly holds her head up most of the time, and I can change her diapers before she realizes what's happening! She's a tranquil soul, still blue eyes, and I realize that I named one of my characters for her before she was even thought of.

Today is also our anniversary. 37 years! That passed by in a flash as well. We're going to the Milk Bottle Cafe, a landmark here in Spokane that was built in 1935. According to Wikipedia, this representational architecture was "designed to build better men and women by making dairy products attractive to boys and girls." Ah, the innocence! We're going because their milkshakes are unforgettable and  they fry up the best bar-b-que hamburgers in town.

So, goal setting for the week by WEDS 8/5:
1. Complete edits and add one major scene to Section 2 Years of Stone.
2. Revise two last stories for The Mermaid's Quilt and Other Tales.
3. Do two CRITS for NOVELS-L on the Internet Writers Workshop and participate in ROW80.

Writing thought for the day:  What does a writer do when the scene doesn't unfold, the characters don't talk to each other, the conflict lies flat on the page like a pancake? (Sorry, still thinking about that Milk Bottle Cafe).

If I've worked hard enough, I jump on the internet to look for a FACT that relates to this scene. Maybe an image of a street or an old house. In my current work, old newspapers online are a gold mine of trivia for local controversies, street names (a sense of place), shops that are going out of business, governesses that need to be hired, confirmations of ship sailings. Sometimes I'll search for biographies of key historical people and read through where they were born, how they grew up, when they married. Often the wives (mid 19th Century) died in childbirth. Sometimes the husbands remarried immediately. Sometimes they never married again. I found a lovely image wandering through a museum. Somehow a prison door had been preserved and now was on display. Prisoners had carved graffiti into the wooden doors of the prison -- the outline of a ship, a year, the names of their sweethearts. Some lines were cut deeply, as if the prisoner had a knife; other lines were faint. Paintings, portraits, photographs of old buildings, city histories -- and an unexpected wealth of PDF reports, doctoral dissertations, studies, all help prime the pump. TIP: No matter how much you download or save on your trusty computer, please, please remember to back up your stuff!

And, sadly, that old standby, interlibrary loan, doesn't always come through with books that no one else (apparently) in the world wants to read. So never pass a used book store without checking out what they might have in your area! My most recent find, a lovely collection of aboriginal folktales, The First Sunrise: Australian Aboriginal Myths by Charles P. Mountford (paintings by Ainslie Roberts). One of these will prompt me to add something to a character, a memory from childhood, a recurring dream, maybe a night terror.

May your writing go well.

Weds Check-in . . .July 26th

Not sure I'm quite understanding this ROW80, but here's the place to check in and see if I'm keeping up with this week's goals.

This week on the Internet Writing Workshop's NOVELS LIST, there's been much discussion about whether folks should submit work for critiques from stories that are "in progress" or "finished." Makes me want to jump in with an opinion, because the comments have raged against both types of writers, and some suggest there's only one way to participate in this IWW list.

What I've learned since last summer is that feedback from other writers has helped me focus my writing in unexpected ways.

When I was truly stuck, trying to decide which story to write, participating in the FLASH fiction group prompted me to explore ideas and pursue the threads of two possible novels. Over time, one story came to dominate my thinking. Could I have done this without the group? Perhaps.

I then rejoined NOVELS-L and dove into Years of Stone wholeheartedly, built my plot scene by scene on a cork board, spotted plot holes, and continued to write. Then occasionally, yes, work-in-progress, I subbed chapters from the story that was unfolding when I felt I wanted feedback on the energy of the writing overall. At this stage, I got enough feedback to feel I was truly on the right track. No one said, "Stop writing this crap!" though a few complained that I wasn't subbing chapters in sequence. Well, I wasn't writing in sequence so . . .

It's now a year later. The first draft is truly done. Every single chapter sings as best as I can make it. I'm subbing the final section 3 (yes to NOVELS-L) for review and have the entire first draft out to two 'first readers' I trust, and then . . . I'm not sure. Still waffling but leaning ever close to Amazon.

But my point is what worked for me may not work for anyone else. So, whether we submit finished, or work-in-progress excerpts for critique, this writing is a very unique journey, one filled with doubts and joys. Every comment I've received from critters on NOVELS-L (and FLASH) has helped me on my writing journey. I've struggled, learned, revised, edited, sweated, cussed a few times, retyped (oops, re-word-processed), and will persevere.

Thank you all.

Now to ROW80.
1. About 60% through edits on Section 1, Years of Stone. Got comments already on Section 2.
2. Edited one story for The Mermaid Quilt: A Collection of Tales.
3. Drew one picture for same.
4. Found two potential agents I like  for Years of Stone, but still waffling there.

May your week go well!

In the thick of revising . . .

Wonderful comments are starting to come in from first readers of Years of Stone. I begin most mornings with edits, rereads, and revision. I've also started working that list of potential agents. I'm reading more online, various blogs, and dipping into snarky agent query tips. Most mornings I feel good about my progress, though I did blow 3 hours on researching potential Australian agents before deciding that's not the right market. It's not like I can just pop over to Hobart or Brisbane.

So many of the articles I've read recently point to a basic shift in publishing -- the traditional route or e-publishing. There's something to be said for traditional publishing, but do I aspire to literary recognition? A terribly long writing career? A place on any best seller list? No!

What I really would like is to have some readers like my stories, maybe a few more readers than that so-close-to-vanity-press label 'family and friends.' Though family and friends would be good. Dear husband Allen is a purist. He wants my writing to be recognized professionally. With an agent. And a publisher. Since I've begun seriously writing on retiring from a teaching career, I don't have decades ahead. So, perhaps like other otaws (older than average writers), I vascillate ever closer to e-pubbing.

To keep me from jumping too quickly into researching the next novel, Rivers of Stone, the third in the MacDonnell saga, I've decided to experiment with an e-pub collection of short stories and join
ROW80, a lovely writing challenge called A Round of Words in 80 Days, that requires measurable goals and accountability -- and blogger posts on Weds and Sundays.

ROW80 Goals for the week to complete by Sunday, July 28. 
1. Complete edits for Section 1 Years of Stone.
2. Revise two stories for The Mermaid Quilt and Other Tales.
3. Decide whether Amazon or Smashwords works best for me.
4. Identify five potential agents for Years of Stone.
5. Draw two pictures for The Mermaid Quilt and Other Tales.


Dream on. May your own projects for the coming week go well!

On completing THE first draft . . .

Today is a BIG day! I have just a half chapter to fill in a scene, and I'll be done with the first draft of Years of Stone, and ready for my first readers. Just nine months. Originally I thought October. Maybe. Then something happened after happily finishing the A to Z Blogging Challenge in April this year.Maybe it was writing every day. Maybe it was researching 19th Century Tasmanian history (my theme for the A to Z). I made a commitment to write 200 words a day. That would have taken the draft to October. But somehow I cranked out an average of 300 words a day. Presto! The draft is done. OK, nearly done. One scene left.

But today marks the end of June. July will be a key transitional month. I'll be looking at revision, not drafting. Lots of work with the Internet Writing Workshop, bless each and every critter who lives there. And that other dreaded question looms closer: Do I self-pub or continue to seek an agent? Or consider an indie press?

What did I learn from writing this first draft? A few tips to pass along that may be useful to other writers.

TIPS FOR WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT

---Set up a working plan. Doesn't have to be a final outline, but a sketch of where I want to go.Sort of 'who's on first'.
---Work up short descriptions -- a few words -- at the scene level to map out the whole story. Remember doesn't have to be complete. Think main characters, their goals, where they want to be, where they physically and emotionally travel. What obstacles they face.
---Write what I can. Every day.
---Start with characters talking if I don't know where the scene is going. They know.
---Draw maps and update them. This 'grounds' the story and sets physical relationships. (Note: Allen says also think logically! Start from one place and move to another. Ask what's logically first. Not that I was ever THAT logical!)
---Set a promise for a specific word level, say 100 words higher than I think I can do easily. And make it so.
---Keep a daily work journal organized by today's date that tracks word count, any unanswered questions, ideas for scenes, conflicts, events, and, especially for historical novel writing, track those dates!
---If a question arises right in the middle of a writing session, just write it down in the middle of where I am (maybe use ALL CAPS), and keep writing. Don't jump on the internet to fill it in, unless curiosity compells you to do so. You can do that later. Unless, of course, you must.
---If I can't afford Scrivener yet, use the cork board for scene cards set up by chapter and section. Here evaluate themes, characters, conflicts, locations, and seasons.
---Set goals or a working schedule (if goals are too intimidating) for major deadlines (first draft, second draft, first readers, etc).
---Take time to celebrate each accomplishment. Plan to write tomorrow!

Once this last month, really just last week, I dipped under 100 words and was depressed, lost faith, got discouraged. I had made too many commitments that bumped the writing. So, learn a lesson from this! NOTHING BUMPS THE WRITING. OK, almost nothing. Family would bump the writing. But I can reschedule other commitments.

My cork board is clean of 3x5 cards. The next story is already nibbling away.

Book Cover from Oz . . .

There's something unexpected about researching online. Since it's increasingly unlikely I'll be traveling to Tasmania anytime soon, I've been searching out videos on YouTube and images about key points, Port Arthur, Hobart Town, and the midlands of Tasmania, then trying to imagine what these places must have been like in the mid 1840s -- what plants, what birds, what bugs, what weather, what people. I've found impossibly blue skies and a rich terrain from tropical fern forests, to trackless brush covered mountains, a myriad of small islands, and milder flat plains, ideal for sheep and cattle. 

Intrepid photographer, historian, motorcycle buff, antique book lover, and writer Murray Bernard of Tasmania has posted many exquisite photos online. But this picture of Sarah Island seems to capture the essence of my current work in progress, Years of Stone. 

Sarah Island (@ Murray Bernard)

Perhaps the sharp contrast between the ruined stones of what was once a prison on Sarah Island and the natural beauty of towering eucalyptus draws me. Few letters or books speak to what conditions were like so long ago for those men and women transported to Tasmania, to the land beyond. But should I choose to self-publish in about a year's time, this will be the cover. Thank you, Murray!

Sarah Island, active between 1822-1833, has the reputation of being the harshest penal colony in Van Diemen's Land. I've read somewhere that writers are to 'torture' their characters, but because my story is set in 1842-1844, my characters didn't have to go to Sarah Island. They suffered enough. Here's my other favorite of the view from Port Arthur, also taken by Murray Bernard.

Port Arthur (@ Murray Bernard)

Chaos and Saknussemm's oracle . . .

This week I read Kris Saknussemm's article "Historical Novels and The 'Truth'" (The Writer January 2012), in an ongoing attempt to remove chaos or at least diminish the to-read pile in my office.

Saknussemm wrote on the novelist's responsibility to the truth and concluded that what really happened 'back then' shifts drastically, depending on which version you trust -- from your vantage point of several decades later, several hundred years, or more.

Since weaving facts into fiction is a preoccupation of mine, his comments were intriguing enough to push me over to his site where I discovered -- not only a fascinating site that uses video, music and clips to promote his book, Zanesville, but there I found the oracle!

Having properly emptied my mind, I asked my question, pressed the button, and received this enigmatic sentence:

You meet the ghost of yourself in every unfinished task.


Now there's something to think about. For if I pick up something I wrote five years ago, for example, in a sense I am no longer that person. But I re-experience who I was at that time. A very different way of looking at unfinished projects.

Saknussemm, dubbed in Wikipedia as a 'cult novelist and multimedia artist' has a new book out about slavery set in the 1840s, Enigmatic Pilot (Random House Books/Del Rey Books 2011). This one's definitely on my to-read list.  And I will follow this writer as well, despite his reputation for being somewhat of a 'shock jock,' for he has an edge on blending the visual, the written word, and internet-based technology that is fascinating.

If you wish to play with the three Chings, go to Kris Saknussemm's site, enjoy or skip the intro, and click on "Ask the III Chings" (after you have a question in mind).

I just checked his ZanesVille out, the first in the series. Dubbed a satire, this outrageous book will challenge me, but it will have to wait until next week's reading . . . another unfinished project!

Source of Saknussemm's portrait:  Wikipedia.

Sunday . . . on finishing . . .

Our possessions talk to us. Yes, we can walk through our apartments, our homes, and all our 'things' present us with dialogue. African violet? "Have you watered me?" Laundry basket? "You're late!" Mending basket? "When are you going to tackle me?" Pile of unread magazines? Dishes in sink? And writerly types, "When will you update your synopsis?"

But some of what we choose to keep close to us carry memories: An ivory elephant, an indigo-cloth covered box from my aunt who lived in post World War II Japan, a print of mermaids by Melissa Cole, a Spokane artist, another of Frida Khalo, a Turkish bowl with vivid red tulips. These objects we surround ourselves with nurture us and define us. We keep close those things that remind us of who and what we love.

This week the daily writing goes well (those word counts are racking up). I would get a sticker from Rachel (who teaches music) for having exceeded my goals every day this week. Two books came through on interlibrary loan. One from the Library of Congress, Thomas Cook's An Exile's Lamentations, written probably about 1841 to record his experiences as a prisoner on infamous Norfolk Island. And the other, First Australians: An Illustrated History (eds. Rachel Perkins and Marcia Langton) told from an aboriginal point of view, lavish with discussion and photographs of artwork from the 19th Century. I'd much rather read either of these books than dig into that mending basket! And it's Sunday. Time to heed the bird calls just outside my window and walk amid the lilacs in Manito Park.

At the end of each day, I check my office to see that all is cleared away, whether writing, research, quilting, or whatever project is current. For morning begins with writing Years of Stone, and I want my fingers to know the story.

You can see a preview of First Australians in a slide show or a video. The book also is available on amazon.

Friday Reflections . . .

Writing every day with a specific number of words as a goal is working for me. Hooray! I'm also not writing every day for A-Z April's Blogging Challenge. But . . .

I miss seeing what everyone else is doing, thinking, feeling, writing. That was a neat community of writers. I couldn't visit every single 1718 participants. Maybe I met 40 new bloggers. Tried to visit them every day. Laughed and cried. Learned a few new strategies. Appreciated the wide range of celebrations of what it means to be writing and connecting with others who care about writing. Would I like this to continue? Yes.

Last night I dreamed about the last hummingbird or maybe the first humming bird of summer. I met a prolific journalist-writer who has dreams of four more books. The trees here are in full flower. Every street filled with that bright spring green and outrageous cherry pink. Someone is moving in the empty apartment next door, and I feel guilty for not pitching in. But this morning's writing hit quota. It's time to do a little online reading, make breakfast for my DH, and maybe move a few boxes for the new neighbor. Write on, everyone! Write on.

Down for the Count . . .

The last few days have brought some neat ideas my way.

First (and very helpful) is the idea that blogging doesn't have to happen every day. Completing the A-Z Blogging Challenge was intense and sometimes did take me away from that day's writing, though I gained much along the way. So, thanks to blogger Amy Tan's suggestions, I'll now post on the blog about 3x a week. Haven't set up a schedule yet, but already this feels good.

Second, do I really have a specific writing goal? Looks like we'll be going to Africa in Oct/Nov 2012 for about 6 weeks. As my mother would say, 'Ooofta!' I already know that will create a big hole in my writing, so it's time to figure out what I really want to do. That's easy. I want to finish the first draft of Years of Stone at roughly 90,000 words.

Do I have a schedule? Only six months takes me to October and the Africa trip. Can I complete this first draft in 6 months, sitting now at roughly 53,000 words and a good plot outline? That means some 5,000 words each month. That means 200 “good” words a day. Even on a bad day, I should be able to write 300 good words. Every day.

GOAL: 300 ‘good’ words a day.
GOAL: Complete first draft by October 2012.

After coming home (and decompressing -- and processing notes and pictures), I should be ready to go back to work about mid-December (if not sooner). So it's reasonable to send that my draft out to 'first readers' (a term used to describe those hardy and deeply trusted editing/writing buddies who are willing to read a first draft). If they return in 6-8 weeks, the timing is perfect.

Of course, I'm continuing to submit maybe 1-2 chapters a month (and critting an equal number plus) to NOVELS-L at the Internet Writing Workshop (an absolutely wonderful resource).

I'll keep you posted. So maybe writing goals don't need to be set only in January at the turn of the new year. How are your writing goals coming?

On writing . . . and finishing . . .

Three books so far. One rests in a drawer. A thriller, Mothers Don't Die. One is being sent out somewhat sporadically. Standing Stones introduces the MacDonnell clan during the Scottish Industrial Revolution. The current work in progress, Years of Stone, set in Tasmania mid 19th Century, steams right along.

Some days I think I'm learning more about my characters, about how to write their story in a way that reveals some essential truth about the struggle we all face to make our lives a little better. Some days the next book teases me with sly thoughts, and I wonder how long it will be before Years of Stone is truly finished and ready for some form of publication. I also wonder when I'll jump into self-publishing.

But mostly I just write in the morning because if I don't, I get grouchy and feel something elemental is missing, an anchor that keeps me connected to the past and the future in a way that is uniquely mine.

Even when the writing does not go well, when I can't write a sentence that pleases me, I still learn something new. Did you know that 'fadge' is Victorian slang for a farthing? Fadge became the name of one of my characters this week. Here's how he introduces himself:  "You know why they call me Fadge?” He spat. “’Cause my life’s not worth a farthing.”

Fadge is a hulk of a man, silent, enduring, and he's probably spent far too much time in solitary. And yet he shares his Sunday meal of boiled beef with a fellow prisoner. He is also mad to escape. For I'm down in the coal mines this week, in the dank and dark places where men grubbed coal out by hand in tunnels no more than 4 feet high, and young boys ran baskets of coal back to the mine shaft, to be pulled up some 70 feet by a winch. These boys have no names.

I write to bring this history alive -- if for no one else, then for me.

Word Play . . .

1: Spring Haiku

Plump blossoms hide bark.
Tiny leaves sprout umbrellas.
Spring: forget-me-not.

2: Spring Haiku

Plump blossoms hide winter's bark.
Green leaves sprout tiny umbrellas.
Spring rains, first flowers, forget-me-not.


This morning I mapped out the current tough chapter. Mac and Fadge are now 300 feet deep in a 19th Century coal mine. Bits of dialogue come first, then a description, and conflict. It sounds so flaky but now that my characters are 'in place,' they will show me their reactions. Trust the process.

Now, tonight, inspired by those lovely spring blossoms that fade so quickly, I'm playing with words. The first poem follows the traditional haiku format of 5-7-5 syllables. The second has 5-7-5 words.

Today, from the Internet Writer's Workshop forum on writing, comes Michele Riccio's suggestion to try Wordle, a free app that generates an image based on the frequency certain words appear. The more repetitions, the larger the word!

I copied some 20,000 words in from Section 2 of Years of Stone (draft in progress) to find my characters -- Mac, Deidre, and Mary most prominent. That's fine with me. Now I'll do a search and replace to see if I've used 'back' appropriately. An interesting play on words.

Today's post continues my May challenge: to write something every day, inspired by what someone else has written. The haiku (one form of word play) comes from Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides (Writer's Digest March/April 2012) prompt to write a haiku.

May Challenge #1: Write the Fear

Sometimes our fiction takes us to dark places.

Because I write intuitively, sinking down into my characters, sometimes I'd rather skirt along the top of how they're feeling about the predicaments they've gotten into. The 'real' conflict happens off stage. Sometimes my characters are too polite.

In the chapter I'm working on, Mac has been transferred to prison coal mines in 19th Century Tasmania, a horrible, brutal place of no hope. I don't want to write about what he sees or what happens to him.

Some would say that's the muse talking. Back off. Let the story unfold. Or it could be conflict avoidance. To push on, I could draft the scenes for this chapter and let them rest. Cut them later.

But for May's Magazine Challenge #1, I found this lovely article by Wisconsin poet laureate Marilyn L. Taylor, "How to Write the Poem that Scares You" (The Writer Feb 2012). She offers this advice:

1) Wait. She's talking about letting real time pass before you write about a traumatic event. Some writers wait years before tackling the traumas they cannot forget. But the traumatic events here happen to one of my characters.

2. Tell the poem in third person. This is for emotional distance, and as Taylor points out, "to avoid self-pity." This idea helps me because it suggests emotional punch is possible in third person.

3. Try using a traditional form. Taylor explains that raw emotion can be controlled and transformed through the discipline of form.

4. Use a metaphor to replace literal details.This points the fiction writer to consider all images as vehicles to shape the setting, the scene, and the senses.

5. Use humor. Aha! Humor may be all that's left to these men who face sentences of 7 or 14 years or life. Humor could shape dialogue.

Now I'm ready to go to work, part drafting, part research. My purpose: emotional and historical truth. My poor character should be afraid, for he is going to suffer.

May Magazine Challenge . . .

Last month I jumped in to write the "A to Z Blogging Challenge," a blog a day around the alphabet with the added challenge to visit as many bloggers as I could. Some pre-wrote their entries, some wrote shorter entries, some wrote about a specific theme. Last month I dove into my research and along the way gained some new interesting insights.

So this month, the merry month of May, I offer the MAY MAGAZINE CHALLENGE.

Maybe like me, you have a stack of magazines that you read once in a while but sometimes not at all. These magazines may be about writing, nature, archaeology, history, current events. What do you think about what you read?

The challenge: Select one article and write a reaction. Maybe a scene or story. Maybe a poem.

That's it! Share your post and try to read any other bloggers (try 5-7 bloggers each day) who pick up this particular glove. And then happily recycle that magazine.

I hope you join me.  Write on!