Category: Writing

Observations on the writing life

Happy First Day of Summer!

Last week, I posted about lack of progress on my back yard retrieval project. My above-ground pool has been gone since September. A few plants were put in around the perimeter of the pool’s footprint. We also wanted our patio extended a bit. And work slowly progressed throughout the autumn.

For some silly reason, I thought spring would see the end of the project. That I would have a larger patio and a writing garden for this summer. I finally texted the Vanishing Landscaper earlier this week: “Let’s talk about basil, parsley, cilantro and the patio.”

The next day, I came home to this:

basil

Several kinds of basil

Patio in Progress

Stones for the extended patio

Herbs

Parsley, basil, and (I hope) cilantro

And he was at the house the day after that when I came home for lunch. He did a lot then, too.

Patio in Progress

Prepping to set the patio stones

I may have my patio by my July vacation.

I sat outside  with Alph yesterday, and envisioned it all in between writing many sentences. I decided to call it my writing garden. I hope it comes to pass this year.

 

Tiffany!

Sometimes I’ll mention “Tiffany” in my blog. Maybe I should explain who–er, what–“Tiffany” is.

Many years ago, I’d picked up my children from day care and was driving home when Y-Chromo–about 3 years old at the time–asked me about that “holiday after Christmas.”

“New Years?” I asked.

“No. It’s one Christians celebrate.”

He kept trying to explain the holiday to me, but my work-drained brain wasn’t making connections. And X-Chromo (8 or 9 months old) might have been fussing, too. This went on for several blocks. The he popped out with, “Oh! I remember what it’s called. Tiffany!”

Considering he was only three at the time, I was pretty darned impressed he was discussing Epiphany.

Several years later, I shared the story with my writing friends. They thought it was adorable. (I thought so, but I might be the tiniest bit biased.) And from that moment on, whenever one of us has a breakthrough while plotting a book, writing, or anything else in life, it’s a “tiffany.” The mispronunciation/misunderstanding has become so much a part of our language, we use it without thinking, forgetting other people might not know what we mean.

I had several tiffanies over the past weekend while I was on a two and a half day writing retreat.

Early morning on Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate NY.

Early morning on Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate NY.

My WIP, the next book in my Toke Lobo and the Pack werewolf series, is just flowing. When one is typing along and a plot point or incident you hadn’t consciously planned falls into place and it all makes sense–Tiffany!

Writing Wednesday: National Ballpoint Pen Day!

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Today is National Ballpoint Pen Day!

As a writer, I am obsessed with pens.

The ballpoint pen is considered a great improvement over fountain pens. I, personally, prefer fountain pens. The ink flows smoother. I hate using a ballpoint pen when the ink won’t flow.

Image credit: andrejad / 123RF Stock Photo

Some facts about ballpoint pens:

  • An average of 100 people die each year from choking on a ballpoint pen.
  • 125 ballpoint pens are sold every second.
  • One-third of the ballpoint pens in the United States are owned by BIC.
  • Since 1983, BIC has sold more than 7,000,000,000 ballpoint pens in the United States.
  • An average person in the United States uses 4.3 pens annually.
  • A ballpoint pen has a lifespan of about 50,000 words.
  • The most expensive ballpoint pen in the world is the Mont Blanc Ball Point which costs $730,000.

What kind of writing implement do you like to use?

 

WIP Wednesday: Erin Bevan

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Today I’m delighted to welcome author Erin Bevan to Work In Progress Wednesday.
Erin2
MJ: Erin, June 3 is National Repeat Day. What life experience would you like to repeat? 
 
EB: Oh, that’s a tough one. Well, I will say labor is out. I’ve repeated that three times, and I’m good there. I don’t feel the need to experience that again. My wedding day may be a fun one. I think I would tell myself to relax and not worry so much. Or my honeymoon because I really need a vacation! 
 
MJ: If you didn’t write, what would be your creative outlet?
 
EB: Umm. . . is shopping considered creative? 
 
MJ: LOL! Other than writing, what would be your dream job and why?
 
EB: Trophy wife? Haha! No seriously, I’ve always thought working in a flower shop might be kind of fun. But dream job, I don’t really have one. Unless, you want to take that Trophy Wife thing seriously. Just sayin’! 
 
MJ: Okay, you’re cracking me up here. Describe your ideal/dream writing space.
 
EB: Eww!! Something out of a Pottery Barn Magazine. Soft colors–pale blues and creams with punches of color here and there. Very organized and not a space I share with my giant smelly dog or my husband’s engineering books and guitars!! Maybe a large window overlooking beautiful foliage, not the current dead bushes adorning my back yard at the moment! Or a beach. Gazing at a beach everyday would be nice 🙂 
 
MJ: What do you love most about your WIP hero?
 
EB: He’s real. He’s a guy’s guy. He’s hurt and broken but sucks up his sadness and goes on with his life for his kids. He’s got that little bit of cockiness that is just plain sexy. 
 
MJ: What do you least like about your WIP heroine?
 
EB: Least? Hmmm, that’s hard to say. I really like her, too. She’s funny and cute. If I had to pick something, it would be her eagerness to rely on a man, even when she tries not to. 
 
MJ: What genre is your current WIP?
 
EB: Contemporary. 
 
MJ: How did you come up with your hero and heroine’s names?
 
EB: So, everyone has there own formula for coming up with names. Honestly, I just think of people in my past or my family members and use their names. I don’t get too scientific with it. 
 
MJ: How did you choose the setting for your current WIP?
 
EB: Well, I wanted it to be in the South and hot. I also needed the town to be close to railroad tracks for the plot of the story. South, hot, and railroad tracks doesn’t really narrow it down too much since many towns in the south are hot and have railroad tracks, so I just made up a name for a town and based it outside of Atlanta, Georgia. That felt right and from what I have researched I believe the location will fit well with the story line. I hope anyway! I hope I didn’t royally mess up. 
 
MJ: Please share the first five to ten sentences of your current work in progress.
 
EB: The working title is The Night Train 

Prologue

I have to hide the pages of this journal in a place Papa will never think to look. For if he sees this, then I know he will kill me.

                                    -M

Chapter 1

Everything was turning out to be perfect. Just perfect. There wasn’t one detail Lesley had forgotten. There was only one problem. The guest of honor was running late. Really late.

MJ: Great hook! And I understand you have a new release available . . . today!  
EB: Yes, I have two books out now–The Ranch Hand and my latest release, Cupid’s Angels, which came out today.
 CupidsAngels400-2
MJ: Great cover! How can readers keep up with you? 
EB: I have a website, a blog, and a Facebook page. I’m also on Twitter and Goodreads.
MJ: Thanks for stopping by and best of luck with your new release!

WIP Wednesday: The Plotting Game

“I thought you said you were working.”

I get that a lot when people peer over my shoulder to my computer screen. There might be words there, or there might be a game of Free Cell or Spider Solitaire in progress. And yes, that means I’m working.

I do my best plotting over a game of solitaire. When I was a teenager–long before the age of personal computers–I would sit on my bed for hours and play solitaire.

solitaire

I would also tell myself stories as I played. Whether I was writing “Monkee Stories” (fanfic about the TV show/pop band) or my own “gothic” mystery (a la Mary Stewart), my best ideas came as I manipulated a deck of playing cards.

Old habits die hard, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.