I am sooooo excited. I will be attending this conference (God-willing) in April. Thanks to Heather Mccorkle, I found out this was happening in my state of residence! I have wanted to go to an SCBWI conference for a very long time, but they were always out of state which meant not only money for the conference but for airfare, food and lodging as well. It was an expense I could not afford at the time. But now it is happening write (yes, I meant to write that) here in my backyard! :D I'm so excited!!!!!!
clear blue skies,
soft gentle breeze,
fresh scented petals,
lazy daydreams fly away,
he loves me, he loves me not....
flower song.
I love Calvin and Hobbs!!! I saw this while googling for a pic and found this. :D He is too cute. :D
I learned recently, without a shadow of a doubt, there is a relationship between a writer and his/her characters. This relationship is all about compromise. At least it is for my and my characters. All this time, I thought I was the head honcho, the queen of the roost, the one who called all the shots and scene calls. Ha! Shows how much I know about the wonderful world of writing. My characters have a way of getting what they want and when they want without me being the wiser.
When I begin a story, it usually starts off as an idea, a whim or from an experience that happened in my daily life. After the idea, I jot down a brief (very brief) paragraph of what the story will be about and then from there, the story sort of takes off. Most of the time, I get from a to b without too many problems from my characters. But I guess sometimes they get restless and start trying to take over my story. But they do it in a very sneaky way, with hints, whispers and some times outright mutiny! For example, I have my story all plotted out and have a certain scene planned but as I get to the climax, my characters just don’t go with the flow. Now, more often than not, I love the direction they take my story. To give them credit, they are often subtle in their take-over, which is probably why I never see it coming! AND, they never brag how they made my story better or ever try to take credit. So, I always think I created a fun/great/wonderful story.
And then there are those times when a story seeks me out. Now these characters are usually less subtle than the others. They have a story they want to tell and they hardly ever take no for an answer and they make sure I understand that. Again, don’t get me wrong; they aren’t arrogant, just determined. I don’t get these intrusions on a regular basis (thank God!), as you will understand from the example I give below.
A couple nights ago, I got home really late from a lecture. I checked my email, ate a little snack, said my prayers and went to bed. Just as I closed my eyes, took a few deep breaths and thanked God for the wonderful day (and week) he blessed me with, I began to hear a soft voice, the voice of a character trying to tell a story. I was so tired and had no energy to hear another story that night (heard quite a few good ones at the lecture J) so I tried to hush the story-teller. “Go away,” I try to tell her, “We can discuss your story tomorrow.” As docile as many of my characters are, they can be a bit intrusive and annoying when I am trying to sleep! They don’t like being hushed, ignored or pushed away. When they have a story, they want my full, undivided attention right away. Because let’s face it, my memory is not what it used to be. I have been known to forget my promise of “writing their stories in the morning,” upon waking up the next day. I am forgetful and they know it! You have no idea how bad I would feel for forgetting their stories and breaking a promise. So the voice of the story-teller got louder. Then this young woman holding a baby appeared in my thoughts. I was not going to get any sleep any time soon. Between looks of hurt, fear and desperation, she forced me to listen to her. She convinced me her story was important and demanded my attention. That and she made it clear she was not leaving until her voice was heard. So I cut out a deal with her just as her baby started to get fussy and her eyes dilated as she focused on something behind me. The deal was, I jot some notes to help me remember her story and she would leave (with her strange baby) and let me sleep. She seemed a little hesitant at first but seeing as I was half sleep and getting more tired, she agreed. I really needed my pillow but I got up with my pen and paper and wrote down about two paragraphs. So this is what I got from her…(remember, I was half sleep when I jotted this all down!)
Hida’s home world is ravaged by INFANTry Wars. The government is using the brains of infants to hide secret codes of war and destruction. Recently widowed, Hida finds that everywhere she goes with her infant, death and destruction follows them. She is not sure what is going on but she senses a dark presence around her family and home, especially after she comes home one day to find her father unconscious and her home ransacked and burning. Her father’s secret lab had been set on fire when the intruders did not find what they were looking for. Hida’s nightmare all started after her husband mysteriously died after he defected from the oppressive and corrupt military of the Cyberbotic League and her baby went missing for two days only to be returned to her unharmed. The daughter of a disposed government scientist and the wife of a defector, Hida is on the run. Someone is after them. She has many times caught the glimpse of a shadowy figure following her. But the scary thing is, wherever she goes, there is an explosion of cataclysmic results. Trails of death seem to lay in their wake. City after city she runs with her family barely staying ten steps ahead of the secret forces after her. She receives help from the underground, rebels fighting for justice and eradication of the cyberbotics, intelligent robots used to replace human government and military officials and soldiers. But as their hideouts are being wiped out, the rebels begin to suspect Hida and her family. Soon she is running from the rebels who think she is a spy and the Cyberbotics who want her infant and what is contained in her baby’s brain, secrets that could tip the tide of war in their favor.
Well, that is what I can remember of that evening. She left and I got my much-needed sleep. I am actually rather lucky. My characters are quite reasonable and easy to work with. Our relationship is all about helping, cooperation, respect and compromise. That is what makes us great together. (Unless of course they are determined to keep me awake at night! :/ )
Happy Writing!
“I’m bored,” sighed little moon, “I want to play.”
He looked around to find someone to play with. He saw the earth, spinning around and around. That looks like fun, he thought.
“Can I play with you?” he asked Earth.
“Oh, I’m not playing,” earth said. “If I stop spinning, there will be no day and night; plants and animals will die because nothing will be able to grow.”
Earth continued to spin while Moon looked for a friend.
Soon, Uncle Cloud and Auntie Rain floated by.
“Greetings Uncle Cloud and Auntie Rain,” moon said politely. “Can you play with me?” he asked.
“I’m sorry little moon,” Uncle Cloud replied, “we can’t. I have to carry Auntie Rain to the towns and farms.”
Moon looked sad. “Just for a little while,” he asked hopefully.
Auntie Rain smiled. “Perhaps another time Little Moon. If we don’t go now, the land will become dry and the crops will die and man will suffer hunger and drought. You don’t want that do you?” Auntie Rain asked.
Moon thought about it, “No, I don’t,” moon replied.
Uncle Cloud and Auntie Rain said goodbye and continued on their way.
Moon continued his search for a playmate. Moon saw some stars dancing and twinkling in the distance. Some were bright and some were faint. Moon waved, jumped and yelled to get the stars attention, but they were much too far and busy playing to see or hear him. Moon sighed. Suddenly a streak of like caught his eye. It was a comet passing by.
Moon shouted to the comet. “Hi friend, do you want to play with me?”
The comet had a long glowing tail. “Sorry moon,” she shouted, “I’m on my way home and I must not be late” she said with out stopping or slowing down. “Maybe next time,” she said.
Once again, little moon was alone.
A bright glowing ball peeked around the earth. Moon smiled. It was Sun.
“Why do you look so sad little Moon?” sun asked.
“I’m bored and no one wants to play with me,” he said grumpily.
Sun chuckled, “Don’t be sad Little Moon,” he said, “I’m sure they want to play with you, perhaps they are a little busy with important work. We all have important jobs to do, even you little moon.”
“Really?” he asked. Little moon wasn’t so sure. “But what do I do that is so important?” he asked. “I don’t give heat, I’m not very bright, and I can’t help things grow; I’m just a boring little rock in the sky,” he said frowning causing one of his craters to deepen. “That’s why no one wants to play with me!” he pouted.
Sun smiled. “You are not boring at all. You are also very important. You reflect light from me and provide light for night travelers. You also cause the ocean tides to ebb and flow. That is especially important to many small sea plants and animals. You help the people keep track of time and seasons.”
“Hmm, I do all that?” Moon asked in awe.
“Yep,” said Sun, “you do all of that!”
Little moon smiled. He wasn’t so boring after all and he had an important job just like earth, sun, cloud and wind.
“Well, I’m still bored,” he said, “couldn’t you play with me just for a little bit,” he asked sun.
“Well, I guess I can stay for just a little bit,” sun chuckled.
And for a moment in time, little moon was as happy as any little moon could be.
Clip art from: clipartheavean.com
This is the result of a 15 min nano word sprint :D got to love twitter!Autumn Song-Red Glow
I stepped out my door for the first time in months after the accident. I took a deep breath. The air was refreshing. Despite my fear of every sudden move or sound, I loved the freedom of moving air around me. It came as a bit of a shock when my foot crunched on a few dried leaves. I looked out at my yard. The trees were no longer green. A crisp breeze made my bones shiver. I stood rubbing my hands and looking at the yard. As the sun set, my trees looked like they were on fire with their red and gold leaves sweeping and swaying in the breeze. A red leaf detached from a branch nearby. The wind blew it towards me. As it swirled and danced gracefully in the air, I reached for it. I took a small feeble step forward but jumped back as I realized I would have to step off the porch. I looked around to see if anyone was around, if anyone saw my fear or hesitation. I looked for the leaf. It was still in the air dancing for me. I limped once more to the edge of the porch. The breeze getting a little colder, forced the red leaf towards me again. My leg did not hurt as much, whether it was due to the chilling breeze or the fact I was so captivated by the dancing leaf I did not feel the pain as I stood on it. The leaves on the trees rustled as the wind sang through them. The chimes on the porch added to the autumn ensemble. I leaned on the porch post and once again reached for the leaf. It was just out of reach. Was it mocking me? Was it enticing me, encouraging me to be bolder like it’s new found color? I took a deep breath and stepped down off the porch. On wobbly legs, I stepped onto a granite block. A stone skipped making my heart skip a beat, but the red leaf was much closer. It danced to the song of the wind. The trees behind it glowed reddish gold. I smiled, forgetting my fears, my pain. I stepped on to another granite block, then another, turning, circling, and lifting, on my good leg. For a moment in time, I danced with the red leaf to the song of autumn’s red glow. As the sun disappeared, the breeze passed and the leaf fell into my hands. I hobbled back into my safe, cozy cave and closed the door behind me.
Autumn Thoughts
This morning I woke up to the buzz of my alarm clock.
It was barely light outside and a bit nippy in the room.
I drew my arms around me as I rushed to the bathroom to turn on the hot water for a shower.
The warm steam woke me up.
An hour later, I stepped outside and took a deep breath of fresh air.
Cool, a tad breezy and moist, it had a light smell of newly fallen droplets of rain. Here in Seattle, autumn had arrived.
How I love autumn.
When long, hot summer days bade us farewell.
Most birds embark on their annual migrations.
Insects and critters get ready for hibernation.
Soon, local trees will be crowned majestically with red, orange and yellow leaves. Crisp winds will carry away any that fall.
The sun will play peek-a-boo behind clouds high in the northwest sky.
The smell of pumpkin spice and everything nice like nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice will be the official aroma of homes and bakeries.
I will find my warm, cozy red fleece throw to decorate my bed with.
And on those brisk autumn nights, I look forward to warm spicy cider, my autumn throw, and an exciting new novel to curl up with.
Autumn my love, how I love thee!
You are my season.
