What "lesson from mom or dad " do you still go by today? by J Vincent

The enduring lesson I learned from my parents was that working hard would enable me to achieve   Having thought about this topic the past several days I believe I learned this lesson more from example than from direct teaching.  In fact growing up on a farm had an indirect impact on the lesson which my father, at least was rather uncomfortable. This was that I believed that I could do almost anything a male could do and nearly always better (aren’t the young arrogant). 

anything I wanted.

Life on a farm in the 1950’s and 60’s was an equal opportunity situation unlike most of the world at that time.  What do I mean?  There was no division of male-female, only of size and ability.  If you were big enough and strong enough to do a task, you were given it.  It didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl.  Part of the reason I had to have back surgery last month was that by the age of ten I was lifting and stacking (not very easily or elegantly and sometimes only with help) hay bales weighing up to 100 pounds. If you want an explanation of how hay baling was done in the olden days go to  Bedford Blogs from which I borrowed the photo.

 I drove the tractor to cultivate corn, rake hay, and move hay and straw bales.  One of my favorite summer jobs was baling wheat straw (used for bedding the cows during the winter).  We baled it after milking the cows.  Straw was much lighter and because it was light we could stack bales 5-6 high on the trailer versus 4  for alfalfa. The guys in the photo area baling prairie hay which is lighter than alfalfa. Those not driving would lay on the swaying top and watch the stars as we drove home around 10 pm..  Those nights we usually got a root beer or strawberry float. A reward for our hard work and reinforcement in the lesson I stated earlier.

My inhibiting asthma and back/leg problems notwithstanding, over the years I found hard work did result in success.  I knew no one who wrote, I knew little or nothing about writing but within two years of starting to write I sold my first book.  I did it through research, research, writing and rewriting ad nauseum. And I’ve always believed selling was part luck.  So it may take you longer than it did me but keep at it and you will sell that book.

So, you want to _______? 3 pieces of advice

In this world of writing there are all kinds of advice from people that you meet, people that you know, and even people you love. There are perfect (not so perfect) strangers willing to tell you the most horrendous information about their private lives because they are sure it will make a very good book.

            So, first piece of advice: listen, be polite, nod occasionally, and let the advice marinate on the surface a while—some more time than others.

            Writing is a solitary world peopled with storms, trials, love, adventures, and much that happens to people, places, and things that are only in our minds. These are set free from the confines of our subconscious to our consciousness by mindless activity.

            So, second piece of advice: don’t ignore the vacuuming, the dishes, and folding the laundry or whatever numb activity you’re avoiding while you write. Those chores have a place in your life and they cut the chains of captivity on your creative muse.

            There are many forms of writing. Those who write the stuff of the back of the cereal boxes would have a tough time writing a novel. There are also many paths to completion of a written piece—almost as many as there are writers. Writing is a form of artistic expression. One person’s brown is another person’s burnt sienna.

            So, the third piece of advice: Don’t look down on any writer’s work as you have not tried their path. Forget what you learned in college as the proper way to write as those teachers may or may not have studied the many ways that writers engage in the process of writing. (Likely not!) The process is NOT the end work. Speak to as many different writers as possible to begin to understand the different ways that writing manifests itself in different people. It will help keep you sane as your own talent develops.

             The best advice--join WARA.

My Writing Thoughts I Would Like To Share With you !!! (Z Minor)

Write every day or at least most days. You set your own schedule to how many days you will write and for how long. The most important point to remember is DO IT. I know you think you don’t have time every day because writing a story takes a considerable amount of time – 2-3 minimum hours or more per session. Not true! If all you have is fifteen (15) minutes a day, you can train your mind to cooperate after about a week of writing for the length of time you choose. And when you set down in your chair to write your creative mind just takes over and for the allotted time you write. It is amazing how much writing, plotting, or character work you can get done in a small or large amount of time if you are committed to your writing. I don’t know why it works but take it from me – it does. Give it a try, you will be surprised, and then I can tell you “I told you so.”

I can’t write all day every day. Daily chores like cooking, cleaning, laundry, my flower garden, other creative enjoyments, and my favorite - lunch with friends – take me away from my current writing projects. Yet, in reality doing other things, see above, helps my creativity. I find if I write too long, my writing doesn’t improve. So I write for a couple of hours most days, take a break. This gives me time to plot in my head while I’m doing tasks which are mindless, see above. Then when I come back to my project, my mind is refreshed, and ready to be creative. Remember to have fun!

BICHOK WARA Mantra – Butt In Chair Hands On Keyboard. Your story will not get written if you don’t work on it. The world is full of people who say – someday I will write a novel. Become one of those people who doesn’t just talk about writing a book. Just Do it!!!

Research - If you are going to write a story using researched material find enough to get started writing your story. Determine which facts are needed to enhance your plot and characters. Remember too many events become an unwanted information dump and/or a history lesson. Sprinkle the information carefully throughout your novel. Don’t forget your characters – weave them into the researched action. Once you determine what facts you will use you can always do more research if need be to give your story more detail.

You can research as you write. Be careful you don’t spend months/years researching instead of writing your story. Many successful writers use only a small percent of the material they have research for their novels.

Finish Your Novel – Believe it or not there are many people who start writing a story – be it a novel or a short story and never get beyond a few pages or chapters. In fact, many people have many books started but none finished. Don’t be one of them. Complete your novel, short story, novella, etc. I have enjoyed watching my characters come alive before my eyes even when they talk back to me or are just plain stubborn. Join a writer’s group, there are many in our area to choose from. They offer encouragement to a new writer and suggestions for improvement to seasoned writers.

Z. Minor

Author of Historical Romantic & Contemporary Suspense Novels.

So, you want to grow wild sunflowers? 3 pieces of advice by J Vincent

August and the living is easy.  Easy that is if you’re not a teacher getting ready for school to begin or parents and students preparing for the same.  Can you tell I once was a teacher?  And a teacher long before air-conditioning was prevalent in schools. Heat and sunflowers come to mind when I think of August.  I’ve always loved sunflowers and have various items from trips and other instances above my sewing desk.  I especially love the sunflower doily plate made especially for me by the Elk Falls Pottery  using a sunflower doily which I designed the pattern and crocheted.  I don’t have a clay impression art work by Inga Bow (only her wheat art and a gorgeous woman and child with wildflowers--do check out her sample gallery) I do recall her saying during a tour years ago of her studio in Abilene how difficult it was getting to find wild sunflowers for pressing into clay.

1.      You want to grow wild sunflowers.  First pick seeds from the roadside or where ever you are lucky enough to find them.

2.     Use a rake (not the leaf variety) and score the ground where you wish to plant them.  Scatter the seeds and then use the hoe to cover them

3.     Water occasionally--wild sunflowers are accustomed to dry conditions.  After they bloom pick more seeds or let them reseed themselves.

These steps will allow you to enjoy sunflowers for years to come. 

The same steps may be followed to “grow” your writing.

1.     Pick one tale from the story ideas that present themselves from wherever and whatever

2.     Use research and outlining--whatever tools you are most comfortable with to develop the tale

3.     “Water” frequently --while used to “drought” in writing we are not like sunflowers--with encouragement and interchanges with other writers --WARA being a prime example.

Follow these steps and sprinkle in persistent BICHOK and the stories will “bloom” for you!

As I sat on my deck this morning eating breakfast I studied the sunflowers blooming on the berm just beyond our property.  Nature planted them and they are marvelously presenting the most gorgeous vista with help from no one.  Writers aren’t the same.  We need all the encouragement we can get.  With that in mind I ask for some caring from you.  Later this month I am undergoing some very serious back surgery in the hope of getting rid of constant pain and being able to once again walk without aids of any sort.  In the meantime may your writing bloom just like the sunflowers I see from my deck.

So you want to write a book? (Kathy Pritchett)

Are you sure? Do you want to dedicate hours, days, weeks, months and even years to make what is in your imagination come alive for others? Do you want to hear criticism, both constructive and just plain mean, about what you have poured your soul into? Okay, if your answer is yes, plow ahead for some advice from someone who has been there.

First of all, write. Every day. Make it a habit. The more you do this, the easier it will become for the words to tiptoe out from hiding and show themselves. Sadly, this is a piece of advice I seldom heed. I guess, though I have considered myself a writer from the age of 14 (that’s a lotta years; don’t bother with the math; we deal in words!), I also suffer from the fear that this gift that has been entrusted to me will be taken away, and the words won’t come. Even the main character in More Than a Point of Honor and The Judas Seat (and more books, if I can just let them out), successful novelist Richard Matthews, fears the words not flowing.

Second, do your research. I just read another book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Like all of her books, it teams with minute historical, medical, psychological detail. You smell the unwashed people, feel the sweat run down your back, tremble in fear of hanging, and want to run from the white sow. I don’t know how she knows so much medical information or the minute details of Colonial dress and toilet, but it sure adds to the story. Her detail, rather than slowing down the flow, adds to and is an integral part of the plot. Tom Clancy’s and even J.R.R. Tolkien’s detail bogs me down at time, but not Diana’s or Frank Herbert’s. Good writers are like good painters. Every brushstroke takes you closer to the picture they want you to see.

Third, edit, rewrite, then edit and rewrite again. Listen to beta readers and critics. Comments that are from left field might safely be ignored, but if several readers have the same complaint, look closely at the issue. See what you can do to fix it. Though writing is considered a solitary task, it really isn’t. A writer, except perhaps for Emily Dickinson, doesn’t write for her or himself. A writer writes to communicate with readers. Richard mentions this in his address to a writing conference in Honor. If readers don’t understand what you have tried to tell them, don’t blame the readers. Try again.

In short, if you want to write a book, do it. Be prepared to give up time with friends, other hobbies and often, your sanity. But do it. Write, research, and edit. Over and over. You may write several books that never see publication—author Jodi Thomas call it your “under the bed” book—but you will learn more than a Master’s program in the writing of it. As a critic told me once, “keep at it and you’ll get there.” Even though that was back in the days of typewriters, it’s still good advice.

The Aroma of a Fresh Box of Crayons (Melissa Robbins)

It’s that time of year, back to school shopping! But Mel, it’s only July. My kids go back in the middle of August. If we don’t get our supplies now, the required blue folder with the brads won’t be there.

To my children, Drama Queen (DQ), Boy, and Little One, school supply shopping is bittersweet. They enjoy picking out their spiral notebooks and binders. Who my age doesn’t remember getting their new Trapper Keeper? New supplies are a sign that summer is almost over, the camps are completed, and the neighborhood pool closes. Our trip resulted in joy and tears. Little One bawled. Unlike her older siblings who could choose whatever color folders they wanted, her sheet instructed that she bring yellow, blue, and greens folders. Her favorite color is purple and hello, when a seven year old has a choice between a folder with a cute tiger or a plain yellow, which one do you think she’ll want? I bought both.

I love school supply shopping. I buy stuff for me too. One can never have too many nice pens (mine all grow legs and wander off) and a notebook to fill with all sorts of notes for stories. Don’t forget that smell of a fresh box of crayons. Talk about an aroma that stirs up the memories of school and first days. I try so hard to remember to add the sense of smell into my stories, because where one scent evokes joy and excitement, in someone else, it drudges up fears of bullying and poor marks. Don’t forget the scents in your stories. Think of all the emotions they can stir up! 

Happy Belated Independence Day (Kathy Pritchett)

      Happy Belated Independence Day. Life intervenes when we have our plans firmly in place. 

                 Democracy is the most important export of America, says the main character in More Than a Point of Honor. Because brave men and women stood up for their beliefs 239 years ago, we are now free to write what we want, when we want and how we want. But with that freedom comes responsibility. Even if what we write is fiction, we owe it to our readers to write truth.

  

              We need to make sure that we thoroughly research what we write, so that our readers can trust our words. Not only the facts but the emotions need to be real. We can’t always experience the same things our characters do, but we have probably experienced something that can relate. I’ve never been hit by an electrical power line, but I do know what it feels like to fear for the recovery of someone I love. I’ve never been to North Korea, but I do know what it’s like when your job and your very future are held in the hands of politicians. And how the decisions made by our elected officials depends on so many more factors than what appears in the news.

    

            And if you want to read a moving novel that puts you in the heart of the various conflicts surrounding the Revolutionary War, seek out a copy of Walk in the Light by my late fiancé Charles Durham. His second novel, it was well grounded in the locales, history, artifacts and emotions of the time. The main character is a woman who was forced to stand on her own, and in the end, she saves the day.