Happiness is . . .

An orange kitten curled under your chin
A gray mama cat sleeping on your feet
A winter’s morning cup of hot chocolate

Freedom

To plan the day, the week, your life however you see fit.
Then mess it up.
And mix it up.
And . . .

Sending you all over to read the rest on my friend Elizabeth's blog. She sponsored a whole month of "Happiness is . . ." posts by female voices.
http://www.elizabethfarrar.com/2012/01/happiness-is.html

The Battle Scene: The Hazards of Listening to Your Source

My main character and I have just conquered our first battle scene.

This challenge made me nervous. While I am a fan of epic battles in fantasy—especially the one in King’s Shield by Sherwood Smith (If you have not read that book, you are missing out on one of the most amazing battle scenes in fantasy literature), I am not a great fan of wartime nonfiction.

My "Source," however, whom I introduced to you in a previous blog, has probably read ninety percent of the non-fiction Civil War and World War II books currently published.

Naturally, I called my Source. “Hello,” I said, “So I’m writing a battle scene and this is what I think should happen. Yada yada—”

The Source interrupted. “I don’t they would really do that—”

“Oh,” I said.

“This is what they would do,” said the Source.

“Oh,” I said again. “I suppose that would be the clever way to do it. But what about . . .”

“No,” said the Source. “They wouldn’t want to do that.”

“Oh,” I said again. “But I can have this, right? And this? And this?”

“I suppose,” said the Source.

“But I have to change this?”

“I’m not telling you that you have to change anything. I’m just telling you how someone in that situation would have fought the battle.”

“Oh, but—”

And at this point my Source had had enough and hung up the phone.

Drat. You see, I always draft a scene first before consulting my source. (There’s no point in pestering someone about a scene until you actually know you want to keep it). And I was feeling pretty good about the chapter. Before that phone call.

This was going to be a major revision. Which one never wants to do, but one feels like one should. Otherwise why consult the expert?

So . . . I rewrote the scene.

It didn’t work. You see the problem was that the general within my book is not an expert. In fact he isn’t a general at all, but someone given the title of “captain.” And he wouldn’t fight this battle like an expert. If he did, he might have a chance to win. And I don’t want him to.

He is going to die.

Which is exactly how my chapter felt after I rewrote it.

Dead.

Nine days on the same twelve-page chapter, and I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was frustrated. My source wouldn’t talk about it anymore. And my main character was furious.

Finally I consulted my other main character. You see this hadn’t occurred to me because this character isn’t in the scene. He is off suffering emotional damage and other tragic events during this battle. He doesn’t show up until after it’s over.

“At which point,” he told me, “I am appalled by how stupidly this battle was fought.”

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Oh! I realized. I don’t have to fight the battle the way the experts would have fought it. I just have to let this character explain afterwards how they should have fought it.

I scrapped the whole revision, and wrapped up the chapter in twenty-four hours.

Always consult your other main character.

Kidnapped!

Clearly, I have been kidnapped.

"By what?” you might ask, as you have undoubtedly noticed my pathetic failure to blog over the past month.

I could lie. I could accuse sixth graders, the flu, or fall report cards.

I could even be more creative by accusing Title I meetings, state testing trainings, make-up conferences, collecting special materials for students’ Egypt projects, pre-observation forms, fighting with the copy machine, post-observation meetings, SIOP inservices, cutting squares for Roman mosaics, IEPs, baking chocolate chip cookies for family meetings, or ordering flashcards.

“You could not,” Aurelia says, “I would never allow you to neglect our blog on account of these trifling excuses. Tell them what you have been kidnapped by.”

Ambition.

This year I am both a freelance writer and a freelance teacher (a profession often maligned & more often described as “substitute teaching”). Ultimately, this frees me to do a lot more writing-related teaching, writing events, and venturing into the great unknown.

AKA earning more writing-related income.

Sadly, blogging does not fall under this category and has, therefore, been woefully neglected as I work my way up the steep learning curve of applying for writing events, following-up on e-mails, signing contracts, and even braving the world of subbing in kindergarten—yikes!

However, fear not! My characters have been collecting plenty of ideas for us to blog about in the future.

See you again soon!

Interview

Sending you all over to Readinista for my recent interview! Meant to post this link last week, but . . . well . . . there were three days of substitute teaching, followed by a trip to the vet, an author presentation for the Patrons of the Gilliam County Library Night, a journey to the coast for my grandmother's ninetieth birthday, and Wordstock--the largest literary festival in the Pacific Northwest.

Readinista interview

Folding Paper—It’s All About Character

Twain needed to fold a piece of paper this week and put it in his pocket.

You haven’t heard from Twain before. (I have a feeling you might hear a lot. He’s in one of my book proposals, and he has a reputation for yakking).

Anyway, he had to fold this piece of paper. And it had to be folded into fourths so that it would stay flat. This is not because he is anal—he was very definite about this—but because he had to show it to someone else. Who might flip out if the paper was a mess.

Which made me think about Beth. Who is a mess. And would probably lose the form before it ever made it into her pocket.

And Dane. Who would probably crumple it up and shove it in his pocket. In order to make someone else flip out.

And Salva, who would no doubt put it in his folder so there would be no creases.

And Robert, who would fold the paper carefully.

And Aurelia who would argue about having to show it to anyone at all.

Because every character is different. And that dictates action.

As an author, I really believe you don’t have to know everything. You could spend years doing research. And research is helpful, but it won’t tell you how Twain folds his paper. Or crashes his bike. Or pops it over a mud puddle.

For that you have to know Twain.

It’s all about character.

Simba

I have another new kitty! His named Simba. He is a small orange kitten with long fur. Here is what I have learned about him so far.

1. He is very smart. He mastered the use of the litter box, drinking milk from a bowl, drinking water, and eating dry food all in his first week of living in a house. (Prior to this he had been quartered in the rafters of a shop and the inner hidey holes within a combine).
2. He has sharp teeth. He gnawed off three rubber bottle nipples in three minutes prior to mastering the skills above.
3. He is a fantastic climber, believes in heading for high ground, and likes to scale the back of the couch.
4. He loves to play.
5. And play.
6. And play.
7. He snuggles!
8. He hates being locked in the cat carrier.
9. When hiding, he heads directly for the deepest darkest corner of the room. Which in a kitchen, means the back of an open cupboard.
10. He is totally unafraid of my other cat, Charlotte, which FYI is more than I can say for my parents’ kitty, Billy, or the one-eyed tomcat she pestered—i.e. yowled at—for two hours the other day in the jungle next door.

Hope your kitties are all doing well!

Paranormal Romance with HUMOR

Me: It is time to introduce you to the Blossom Culp books.

Aurelia: The what?

Me: Four novels by Richard Peck starring the main characters, Blossom Culp and Alexander Armsworth. Four books which, BTW, are A. Fabulously entertaining reading for anyone between the ages of 9 and 99. B. The best teacher read-a-louds I have ever come across. And C. Technically examples of paranormal romance published way ahead of their time. With superior humor.

Book 1: The Ghost Belonged to Me—in which seventh grader, Alexander Armsworth, has the unfortunate experience of . . .


-Becoming trapped in a fire escape with his classmate, the spidery-legged girl from across the tracks—aka Blossom Culp.
-Finding a small wet dog in his family’s barn, and . . .
-Discovering that the dog belongs to a ghost.



Book 2: Ghosts I Have Been—in which the narrative is now taken over by the vibrant voice of eighth grader, Blossom Culp. Who has the remarkable experience of . . .


-Scaring the pants off her neighbor, Alexander Armsworth, and the “low-lifes” he has regrettably teamed up with for the night of Halloween.
-Been invited—against ALL likelihood—to attend one (and only one) exclusive meeting of the Sunny Thoughts and Busy Fingers Sisterhood, and . . .
-Begun seeing a small ghost boy who appears to be on the recently sunk Titanic.

Book 3: The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp—in which our heroine . . .

-Moves on to the frightening, and entirely unspiritual, hazards of high school.
-Rescues the entire freshman class from embarrassing themselves during the Freshman Haunted House, and . . .
-Fast forwards one hundred years into the modern day.



Book 4: Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death—in which Blossom . . .

-Attempts to rescue Alexander Armsworth . . . from himself. And the clutches of the popular Letty Shambaugh.
-Spies upon Alexander, who appears to be scrubbing the library floor with a toothbrush.
-And, along with Alexander, is in serious peril of being cursed by the ghost of an Ancient Egyptian princess.



All in the average lives of two teens from the opposite side of the tracks in 1800’s Bluff City. Two teens with NOTHING in common. Except the ability to run into each other. And see ghosts.