Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing ABC - G is for Goals #MFRWauthor #Writing

 G is for Goals. Now we can look at this two ways. The characters and the writer.

Each of the major characters and sometimes the minor ones have goals that are shown through the story.  The goal is what does the character want? Some characters keep their eye on the goal at all times. Sometimes they waver. The fun thing about characters and goals comes when two of the characters want goals that put them into opposition. This could be the hero or heroine and the villain. The hero and the heroine can have opposite goals. Fun especially when one of them wants to catch the other and one doesn't want to be caught. So when you're writing make sure the goals you choose for the characters are obtainable and are logical.

That's where the writer's goals come in. The writer's goal should be to make this the best story they've ever written. To do that they have to keep their eyes on the character's goals. Sometimes this is like juggling a number of balls. For me that's fun for me as an author. So G is for Goals.

Tuesday's Inspiration - The Company of Colleagues #MFRWauthor #aminspired

On Saturday I met with some writing friends. We belong to RWA and have a chapter meeting once a month. I always leave these meetings feeling inspired by the success of others and hearing about all the things and ways they have of promoting their books. There were 10 of us there today and all but two are published. Those two will be published one of these days. Maybe soon and maybe later. The great thing is how much encouragement people give each other. Two people read for critique and received some good advice. What I found interesting is that for the most part there is agreement on some points and not on the others. People aren't trying to re-write a person's story but speak of things that confuse them or things that seem to be missing and are needed.

What about you? Do you have a group of friends who are writing? Do they inspire you?

There's a difference between having other writers view your work and showing your stories to family and friends who don't write. There can be one of two reactions from these people. Either they love every word and have no idea how to make the story better or they have a million nits to pick and leave you ready to cry. I've had the same reaction and decided when I wanted my work critiques to go to those who faced the same struggles as I do getting the words on paper.

Meandering On Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #amwriting #poetry

Meander 1 Poem - Soul
Hidden in grubby darkness
The larva of a person
Wrapped by layers of our learning
It struggles to be free.
Slowly inching through the murk
Its wings spread toward the light.
Soul - Psyche - Butterfly.

Meander 2 - The chapter meeting. Always good to see friends and fellow writers. This week there were 10 of us and talked about the coming contest run by our chapter. Had seventy plus submissions. I do enjoy reading them and doing the scoring. Talked about not being mean and being encouraging.  Also discussed several other things. I must remember for the December meeting to make the brownies Steph liked so much. Two people read. My critiques were on point, I think but very short. Hopefully they helped the writers.

Meader 3 - Still working on The Cancer Capricorn Connection. Am just about finished with the second of four drafts and then it will be on to the revisions. Not tired of the story yet so that's good. When I grow tired of a story I know it's time to send the thing out.

Sunday's Book - Searches - Book 3 of Affinities #MFRWauthor #fantasy #adventure

Having found a safe place in a tower fortress, the four and their companions set out to find what they need to defeat Dom Senet and He Who Walks With Evil. They divide into three groups. The first group seeks the focus stones that enhance their affinities. The second group looks for the remaining artifacts, the swords, the staffs, the flutes and the scrying bowls. The third group sets out to find those with their affinities to round the groups to four of earth, four water, four air and four fire. Their strength will be needed in the final battle.

Saturday's Blurbs feature Books by Karla Stover #MFRWauthor #Myster #historical

List 3 of your books and the blurbs and buy marks.

From Tacoma Curiosities: Geoduck Derbies, The Whistling Well of the North End, Alligators in Snake Lake and More: When the Northern Pacific Railroad laid its final tracks within the fledgling hamlet of Tacoma, it brought opportunity and wild characters by the car full. Seemingly overnight, the Puget sound village transformed into a booming metropolis and eccentric playground with its fair share of growing pains. On one unlucky evening, residents awoke to the cries of a man who fell into the sewers after a road collapsed. Tacoma’s first school avoided demolition for a time thanks to a band of enterprising tramps who converted the place of learning into the Hotel de Gink, complete with unique minstrel shows. . . . these and many more stories [are part] of the quixotic and curious history of the City of Destiny.

From: Murder: When One Isn’t Enough: When Mercedes Mackaill has a month off work in which to house and dog sit at a waterfront home, she soon finds that too much of her own company palls. Then the body of an old woman is pulled from the water in front of where she is staying and Mercedes discovers she’d talked to the woman just days before the drowning. An unexpected meeting with Dorsey Finch, the victim’s tenant, leads to [their investigating] the woman’s strange past—a story reaching back to 1940-s Hollywood and a well-known house on Nob Hill in San Francisco.

From A Feather for a Fan: In the late 1870s, twelve-year old Hildy Bacom and her family leave Pennsylvania and head west to New Tacoma in Washington Territory, a community that is barely four years old [and] with a population of approximately one hundred and fifty. New Tacoma is very different from Pennsylvania, but gradually Hildy adjusts to her new life and makes friends with some unusual people: Mrs. Money, who runs her store with a parrot on her head; Miss Rose, a lady of questionable reputation; and especially Nell Tanquist. With Nell or alone, Hildy has adventures—with a bear, a skunk, and a lost Chinese baby, among others. Then Hildy’s life is complicated by two unexpected events: her growing feelings for the French-Indian boy Samuel, and her cousin, Elsie, who arrives unexpectedly with a problem no one will talk about. The challenges of hew new life force Hildy to draw upon inner resources she didn’t know she had.

Friday's Guest features Karla Stover

What were you in your life before you became a writer? Did this influence your writing?

My friends say I was always writing; I still have a book report I did on The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and a diary from high school. Apparently my friends and I got busted for rolling dice in the hall between classes. How innocent that sounds. However, my entire working career was at Merrill Lynch and my favorite job was salaried stock broker and complaint desk, a somewhat unusual combination. I had to write and turn in a daily report of every person I dealt with and what took place. I sure wish I had the reports now. The interactions would make a great nonfiction book like those cab drivers and waitresses write. The protagonist in my two murder mysteries, Murder on the Line and Murder: When One Isn’t Enough, works for a brokerage house. However, I have always loved history and when a friend of mine became editor of a local newspaper, she hired me to write a column on local history. That was a good thirty years ago and I’ve been writing ever since.

Are you genre specific or general? Why? I don't mean genres like romance, mystery, fantasy etc. There are many subgenres of the

The only way in which I am genre specific is that I am now focusing on historical times. Doing that gives me a lot of leeway and keeps me from getting bored.

Did your reading choices have anything to do with your choice of a genre or genres?

Here goes: Nancy Drew led to my murder mysteries and Anne of Green Gables led to my Tacoma-based book A Feather for a Fan which takes place in the 1870s. My non-fiction books, Tacoma Curiosities, Hidden History of Tacoma, and Let’s go Walk Abouts in Tacoma came from listening to my parents and grandparents’ tell stories about their lives here.

What's your latest release?

My latest release is Tacoma Curiosities: Geoduck Derbies, The Whistling Well of the North End, Alligators in Snake Lake and More—a bit of a mouthful. I finished it last February but October 2016 was its release date.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently working on Wynters Way, a historical fiction book. Because I hate inaccuracies in my own reading, I keep stopping to check things to guarantee their validity as to the period. That makes me a slow writer.

Where can we find you?

Books We love, Five Star Press, and Arcadia Press are my publishers, and Amazon has me. Some of my shorter things are on kindle.

Thursday's Second Scene - Havens - Affinities Book 2 - #MFRWauthor #Adventure #fantasy

Brandien

Bran placed one foot after the other and led the way up yet another snow-covered hill.  For at least two sevendays he and his siblings had traveled north and east.  He’d lost track of the time until only morning and evening seemed to matter.  Sometimes he wondered if they traveled in circles in an unchanging landscape.  Still, he knew his fears were false.  The direction finder confirmed they traveled in the direction Dragen had suggested.

The constant swirl of snow kept him from seeing more than a few feet ahead.  The blasting winter wind swept away all traces of their passage before they had traveled more than twenty feet.  A gust of wind slapped his back and nearly knocked him to his knees.  He struggled to remain erect.

No trees or bushes broke the vast white expanse.  He’d seen no signs of people.  No trails, fences, houses or even the distant spires of smoke rising toward the pewter sky had appeared.  The birds that Ky believed were their parents and who guarded them had vanished days ago.  Though he’d seen the soaring pair, Bran now wondered if they had been a vision wrought by his imagination.

While he wasn’t sure Dragen’s advice to seek Doma Jandia was the right choice, they’d seen no sign of the woman or her house.  A sevenday north and east the man had said.  Had they missed her because they hadn’t left Cedris by the right gate?  Had Dragen meant the journey by courser took that long?  Maybe they had traveled too slowly.  The many storms had made movement hard.

He reached the crest of the hill and paused to study the way ahead.  At the bottom of the slope he saw the dark green of fir trees and the brown leafless branches of the hardwoods.  Though a forest would make travel with the sled difficult they would have protection from the wind.

He took his place beside Jay on a runner on the high-sided sled.  Ash and Ky rode the other.  On the count of three they pushed off and rode the sled to the flat area below.  Their laughter cut the silence of the day.  Once Bran caught his breath, he grabbed the tow rope.  His siblings joined him and they pulled the sled around a tangle of bushes into a cluster of firs.

“We’ll camp here tonight,” he said.  “I’ll find wood for a fire and cut fir branches for our beds.”  Bran moved toward the barren hardwoods to gather deadfall.

Ash and Jay erected the tent while Ky cleared a space for a cooking fire.  The brazier and fuel bricks were only used to take the chill from the tent and to keep food warm for the next morning‘s meal.

Once they ate the savory stew they returned to the tent.  Bran poured tea for them.  “Ash, will you read the winds for traces of Doma Jandia?  We need to find a place to stay until spring.”

Ash’s skin blanched.  “Do you want me to betray us?”  Her voice vibrated with fear.  “I’m sure Dom Senet and his companions keep a constant watch on the winds.  If I try, they’ll find us.”

Bran frowned.  “You could be right, but we need to know where to go.  The only emotions I sense are ours.  I feel we travel in an area empty of people.”

“You have to listen,” Ky said.  “What if Zand sends messages for us on the winds?  We won’t know if he’s safe.”

“Or Valcon, Genira and the children,” Jay said.  “I want to know how they fare.”

Ash put her mug down.  “How can we help them?  We’re far from the city.  I won’t search the winds.  My fear of discovery could alert our enemies.”

“What if Bran uses the cup?”  Ky asked.  “He did once.”

Ash began to tremble.  “Dom Senet will find us.  You don’t know how evil he is.”

“I know,” Ky said.  “I was his prisoner.”

“And I touched his mind.  I had him in my head.  He tried to control me.”

Bran moved closer to his twin.  They could use the circle the way they had when they freed her from the dom’s power.  Right now, she was too upset to listen to their suggestions.  “Before we look for anyone we need to find a place where we have better shelter than a tent.  Then we can make plans.  We can’t keep on wandering.”

Ky nodded.  “You’re right.”

“We can’t go anywhere tonight,” Jay said.  “Tomorrow we can choose a direction.”

Bran went to the sled and pulled out his knapsack.  “Let’s draw stones.”  Taking care not to choose the remaining gem Ky had found and he had stashed away, he put two light and two dark stones into his hat.  “The dark will seek and the light break camp.”  Once all had chosen, they opened their hands.

“Dark,” Jay said.

“Me, too.”  Ash showed hers.

Ky pouted.  “But I wanted to go.”  She held up her hands.  “Does anyone want to trade?”

Bran shook his head.  “If they don’t find anything, tomorrow you and I will look.”

“How long should we take?”  Ash asked.

“Seek until midday, then return so there’ll be time to move the camp."  Bran put the stones into his knapsack.

In the morning Jay and Ash set off in two directions.  Jay traveled east and Ash walked north.  Ky and Bran filled the flasks with tea and poured the broth from their evening meal into another container.  While Ky sliced cheese and placed it on pieces of journey bread, Bran rolled the sleep saques and put them in the sled.  Ky buried the flasks beneath them.  Together they collapsed the tent and prepared to roll the two halves.

Ky handed him a mug of tea.  “There’s enough left for Jay and Ash.  I hope one of them returns with good news.”

“Agreed.  Maybe they’ll find a place where we can stay until spring.”

Ky frowned.  “What will we do when the food we brought is gone?”

Bran sipped the tea.  “Set traps, I guess.”

“Do you know how?”

He shook his head.  “We learned how to fish but not hunt.  Help me persuade Ash to search the winds for signs of people.”

“I will.”  Ky rose and paced about the area.  “I don’t understand why she’s so afraid.”

Bran dropped the mug.  Tea stained the snow.  “No!  Ash!”  He bolted to his feet.

Help!  Help!

“I have to find her.”

“What’s wrong?”  Ky asked.  “Is she a prisoner?”

“I don’t know, but she’s in trouble.”  Bran ran.  What had happened to his twin?  The panic in her voice frightened him.

“Where are you going?”

“To help her.”  He continued his headlong dash along the way Ash had taken.  Her screams filled his thoughts and he couldn’t block them.  Had she been attacked by a wild beast?  Had she fallen into a hunter’s trap?  He tried to send a message along the twin bond but her panicked mental cries were too strong.

Suddenly, the cries reached his ears as well as his thoughts.  He encountered a patch of ice and slid.  By grabbing a branch of one of the firs, he stopped his slide.  He saw Ash.  She had fallen and broken through the ice on a pond.  The water reached her waist and the weight of her cloak kept her trapped.

With cautious steps, he approached the edge of the pond.  Was the remaining ice solid enough to hold him?  He slipped and fell to his knees.  “Ash, I’m here.”

“Bran, be careful.  You might fall in.”  As she spoke, her teeth chattered.  “I’m so cold.”

He found a branch broken from one of the hardwoods and freed it from the snow.  He lay on the ground and shoved it to her.  “Grab the limb and I’ll pull you free."

“What if I can’t hold on?”

“You have to try.”  He heard the panic in her voice and closed himself to her wild emotions.

“I’m here, too.”  Ky grabbed the branch behind Bran.  “One, two.  Pull.”

The loud sound of cracking ice filled the air.  With great effort Ash moved closer to the shore.  When she reached the edge of the pool, Bran and Ky pulled her ashore.  Her body shook.  Bran pulled off her soggy cloak, tossed it aside and draped his around her shoulders.

He and Ky half-dragged Ash back to the fire.  The distance seemed to be miles.  Snow fell from the trees and splattered on Bran’s tunic.  Ash’s body shook so hard he nearly lost his hold on her arm.  When they reached the fire, Bran held Ash on her feet.  “Ky, go drag one of the tent halves over here.  Get one of the sleep saques, my knapsack and a blanket.  We need to get her out of those wet clothes.”  He lowered Ash to the canvas and pulled off her boots, stockings and divided skirt.

Ky brought the things he’d requested.  Together, they dressed Ash and slid her into the sleep saque.  Her tremors lessened. 

Bran searched his knapsack and removed several packets of herbs.  He added them to a mug of tea and supported his twin as she drank.  Slowly her body relaxed.

“Should we put up the tent?”  Ky asked.

“Not yet.”  Bran sucked in a breath.  “See if you can reach Jay on the twin bond.  If he hasn’t found a place for us, then we’ll erect the tent.”

Ky closed her eyes and pursed her lips.  A short time later she met Bran’s gaze.  “He’s coming.  He’s found two places.  One is a hut.”

Bran released his held breath.  “Good.”

Ky rose.  “I’ll be back.”  Instead of running to meet her twin, she ran to the path Ash had taken.

“Where are you going?”

“For Ash’s cloak.  I don’t think we should leave it behind.  If a dom or doma found it, they would learn where we are.”

“You’re right.”

“Once we reach the hut and have a fire we’ll dry yours and hers.  Better put on one of the ponchos before you get chilled.”

Bran went to the sled and found one of the woolen garments.  He returned to the fire and added wood.  Ash slept.  He prayed Jay would arrive soon.  They needed to check Ash’s hands and feet for signs of frostbite.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing ABC - F is for Friends #MFRWauthor #amwriting

When I came to F, I had few ideas but two came to mind. One is friends since the characters in a story need friends as well as those who stand in opposition. The other was Finishing. Perhaps another time I'll look at that.

Friends come in a variety of disguises for the characters in a story. The friend can be one who the main character uses to bounce ideas off or the one they talk to about their problems. There can be a pitfall here. The friend can come close to taking over and the story becomes theirs rather than the hero or heroines. Care must be taken to keep the friend character as a secondary one.

The friend can be older and even younger. The point is to keep them interested in helping the character with their problems. They can be a sounding board or a mentor.

So F is for Friend. Make sure there's someone in the story who has the hero or heroine's back. To reach the satisfactory ending the friend can be vital.

Tuesday's Inspiration _ Reaching the End #MFRWauthor #Writing

Does writing those two words The End inspire you? This always does to me. For finishing a story sends me off searching for the next one to begin. Actually I generally have an idea blocked out, done during those times when the current WIP is resting. I also don't type those words until I'm ready to send the story out to my publisher.

Once those words are written the manuscript is sent via a download and I'm off and running again. You see the last bit of work before sending out the story is revision and that can be a boring or a challenging situation. Mostly finding those garbled words that aren't at all what I meant to say and those punctuation marks that have been omitted. Then I write the end and there is a need in me to create something new.

Hopefully I'm not the only one. What about you? Does typing those words inspire you to begin again?

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #Poetry #Writing

Meander 1 - Poem - A Day In the Life Of A Housewife

Sixthirty and a jarring ring
Disruption breaks a fancied dream.
The day begins with squeals and yells.
With hurried bustling breakfast time.
Then quiet descends on the house
As off to work and school they go.
She is alone to fantasize
A million worlds and more
As she goes about the daily chores
Of dreary repetition.
Washing, ironing, make the beds.
Vacuum, dust, scrub and rub.
The day wears on and out and in
With telephone calls and errands short.
The quiet broken when school is done,
Abd the same messes occur again.
Dinner's over 0 The kids in bed
The day is done and sos is she.
She goes to bed to dream once more
To wait and repeat and repeat and recur.

Meander 2 - Promoting - Not sure how other authors feel about promoting but most of the time I feel this is taking me away from what I want to do. One problem is how does one know how effective this is, especially when many of the sites change their algorithms almost weekly. But one must do it unless they're one of those lucky writers who everyone wants everything they write even if it's not their best work.  I don't mind going on other people's blogs and doing an interview. so there is that. But what one must do they sit down and do.

Meander 2 - Writing - Progressing with the Cancer-Capricorn Connection. Seems to be moving well and the good thing is I'm not sick of it yet. That's good because there are many many words still to write to make this a full story.