Inspirations from Seattle

September 29, 2009
Seattle is a great city. My recent visit was for day job stuff, but I still found plenty of time to wander and taste the many delights the city has to offer. In fact, due to day jobbery, I probably had more fun at restaurants than I would normally have on my own budget. Gotta love client dinners. ;)

The hubby came with me on this trip, as he does when he has the vacation time and the destination is of interest to him. We managed to squeeze in a sunset kayak trip out on the Elliott Bay. This is the perfect setting for my selkie and having visited the area, I decided that he wouldn’t live directly in the downtown area but across the bay at the tip looking over Elliott Bay and the Puget sound. Having sat in a kayak out on the water, watching the sun set over the mountains right about there was pretty much a deciding factor.

Sea Lion Male

Sea Lion Male

Also fun was the sightings of harbor seals and sea lions. A lot of sea lions, mostly young males who didn’t make the cut for mating this season, were in the area feeding on salmon and generally having a good time. We had a close encounter when one large male swam by to get a good look at us. We didn’t approach, keeping a good distance, but he just decided to swim right on by within 20 feet. That was very close, and exciting. Sea lions are very large, up close and personal, much larger than you’d think visiting the show at Sea World. There’s also a little spice added when you take into account that this guy was Wild.

A visit to the Seattle Aqurium also gave me some delightful ideas. First of all, there was the Pacific Giant Octopus who ate several sharks in their larger tank. And then there were the lovable sea otters, full of personality and fun. They had just the right amount of mischief to tickle my imagination.

Street Percussionist

Street Percussionist

Other inspirations came from unexpected sources. I knew Seattle had a lot of street players. I didn’t anticipate seeing a traditional Thai Saw-Duang out there. I also fell in love with a percussionist who tended to change up his rhythms every time a person approached. A new character popped up and introduced himself inside my mind. the character will be a secondary, supporting character, but with unique idiosyncrasies that I just can’t wait to play with in the story line.

There was also a street player who simply dressed himself as a statue (with good makeup) and surprised passersby. He was interesting and chose his “victims” well for good effect, making lots of people take notice without doing more than a simple gesture. And then there was the little shop tucked away on a sloping street behind the market, between the market and the waterfront. It was a tattoo parlor with a feminine touch that just caught my attention and held it.

Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate w/ Peppermint Artisan Marshmallows

And of course, there’s the food in Seattle. The drinking chocolate was divine, the hot chocolate wonderful and the pizza was fantastic. There were a couple of restaurants that truly proved food can be an art form, but one that is accessible and enjoyable. The Pike Place Market was full of sights, sounds, delectable scents and tempting samples. I tend to work food into my stories and there will definitely be food in my selkie story. Omm nom nom.

I guess my biggest worry is this: how do I keep all of this fresh for when I write my novel? I took pictures, and that will help.  I guess I should take notes about food too and impressions. Pagefour allows you to have text files for your notes but no way to store pictures with your novel notes. I’ll have to set up a folder on my computer and keep the pics there, away from the context of my notes. Not the best solution. We’ll see how it goes.

Goals and Rewards

September 28, 2009

Someone once asked me: should I set big goals that are spaced far apart or should I set little goals?

I’ve seen other authors set themselves goals of word counts, completing drafts or revisions, even setting goals that they might not be able to directly achieve themselves – such as “I’ll have an agent by the end of the year” or “I’ll be published by the end of 20xx”. That can really lead to disgruntlement, negativity and a sense of failure when there really wasn’t anything a person could have done better. Especially in the publishing industry, things like the agent offer or publishing offer are very subjective and there’s no way to set yourself a goal that will guarantee the outcome.

There are some concepts that carry over from the day job very well in these cases, and then I add a little of my magic in there too. First the day job lesson: SMART goals.

Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound.

Why? Because you don’t really know if you’ve met your goal if they aren’t at least a couple of these things. It’s too easy to loosen up on yourself or forget about your goal and procrastinate.

The next thing is that I prefer to set a series of small goals that lead to a big goal. And here’s where my magic comes in: I believe that there should be little rewards for the achievement of those goals. Meeting each little goal is a little success on the way to a much bigger one and you give yourself positive reinforcement along the way if you indulge in a little reward at each milestone. You’re that much more likely to make it to that big success if you have those encouragements along the way, feeling like you’re definitely making progress.

A little bit of day job practicality added to a positive approach with a touch of indulgence goes a long way.

Headed to Seattle

September 21, 2009

I’ve only ever been to Seattle once before, for Sakura Con.  Believe me when I say visiting a city for an anime con is a completely different point of view from visiting a city for day job/vacation purposes.

I’ve never really looked at any city with the eyes of a writer researching an environment.

Seattle is one of the cities that will be the home of an MC from the same world as Aine of Mischief’s Daughter. Because of that, I’m going to bring the trusty Nikon D80 and Asus EeePC, capturing a lot of impressions and a lot of notes. That’s from the urban fantasy standpoint.

From the science fiction standpoint, Seattle is the kind of city I want to feel when I’m writing Kaitlyn’s story. She’ll be out in space, but visiting several cities and I want each city to have a certain feel to it. Her home port of call will be a city with a similar feel to Seattle and it’s nearby wilderness. So the trusty Nikon D80 will also be capturing a few interpretive images that will go sci-fi in my mind’s eye.

Aside from day job stuff – the hubby and I plan to sneak away for a tour of Pike Place Market and a couple of hours kayaking around Eliott Bay at sunset. Derek aka darkfantasist recommended the Underground Tour, apparently in sync with hubby who brought the same tour up the same day…around the same time. O_o

Derek mentioned that he might be having a dinner/tweet-up one night while he’s there and if it overlaps, I might convince the hubby to go make new friends. That’ll be a new experience for me as well. I’m kind of nervous about that one – one never knows if the authors/agents/editors I’m following in blogs and Twitter will think I’m a stalker. I’m just trying to learn, honest!

Beta Reading

September 17, 2009

I’m lucky to have a couple of great beta readers.

Lest anyone might think that it is one-sided, I have no issues budgeting  my time to beta read for my close friends and beta readers. In fact, I believe reading for them is an exercise in improving my own writing skills.

When I beta read, I’m looking at a story from a fresh perspective when the author might not be able to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. I give an honest opinion, maybe even a critical set of feedback, with the idea that it is best to give the writer the information needed to really take their work to the next level. If the writer just wants positive reinforcement, I give a little of that… but mostly, I give the constructive and sometimes critical kind of feedback that isn’t for the faint of heart or weak of will. I’m not one to succumb to GSF #2.

Let’s also note here that my opinion is just that, an opinion, in a very subjective business. The writers are welcome to disregard my commentary. Especially since I’m still learning quite a lot about the craft of writing and the business as a whole.

Beta reading for others helps me to approach my own revisions with a fresh perspective and a reminder to be objective with me work, or as objective as I can make myself. It’s an important thing to recognize your own weaknesses, both in yourself and in your work.

As with everything, beta reading must fit in the balance with the other things I juggle, like a day job and my own writing. Thus, I’m not likely to beta read for random strangers or even minimal acquaintances. The beta reading favor goes to a fairly short list of people and the rest get a No, with all due respect.

Currently, I’ve only got one project on the task list to beta read. It’s a 100K+ science fiction novel and the second in a series. I’m debating as to whether I should beta read the first novel as a refresher, since it’s also gone through some major revisions. That could be time consuming, but probably worth it for both the story and the writer.  Stay tuned…

Workshops and Conferences

September 14, 2009

I’ve written for a very long while and in all that time, I’ve always loved to read science fiction and fantasy.  I’ve also read other commercial fiction and really enjoyed the ride.

When they tell you to write what you love, I’ve found that half of my stories take the form of urban fantasy. The other half seem to take on the romance genre, paranormal romance specifically. I’ve only been reading romance for about a year and a half.

Obviously, there’s still a lot about romance that I need to learn, even if writing it seems to feel right for me.

I had thought to attend the Romance Writer’s of America national convention to attend a few workshops and learn in a concentrated weekend. Unfortunately, it has been scheduled during the same weekend as another convention I attend regularly, both this year and next year. So we go to plan B.

I’m going to attend a couple of online workshops sponsored by RWA online chapters and narrow down which chapter I’d like to join.

The first workshop is sponsored  by From the Heart Romance Writers, Infusing the Romance Novel with Emotional and Sexual Tension. I can write romance, but I need to learn to charge my stories with emotion and sensuality from beginning to end…not just in certain scenes.

As regional conferences go, they would be key to meeting agents and networking with other writers. I plan to attend PhilCon this November and am looking for a regional romance writers conference for next year. I think the one in NJ is a little too local and am looking for a regional that draws several of the agents I’m hoping would be interested in my work.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. ;)

For Remembrance

September 11, 2009

 

DOGNY: Americas Tribute to Search and Rescue Dogs DOGNY: America’s Tribute to Search and Rescue Dogs

There were many heroes that stepped forward on 9/11.  Of them, 250 search and rescue dogs searched desperately for the living and then continued to search for the remains of the deceased. Bleeding paws, heat exhaustion, none of it stopped them or their human partners as they went on and on.

In an effort to never forget, the partnership and the bond is what I choose to honor, remembering the SAR Dogs of 9/11.

Anchor in Reality

September 9, 2009

I’m a writer of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. I have a couple of ideas for a sci-fi novel or three nibbling at the edges of my mind. I love fantasy artwork, read large numbers of books in the sci-fi/fantasy/urban fantasy/paranormal romance genres and unwind by watching movies like Blade and Underworld for dark and edgy with a touch of violence.  That’s a lot of supernatural mojo going on with help from folk lore and mythology from all around the world.

In severe contrast, my hubby does NOT watch sci-fi or fantasy movies, doesn’t read much for entertainment and never likes to dress up for Halloween or Renn Faires. He’d rather gouge his eyes out with a spoon than attend an anime con with me. What I didn’t realize was just how much he hasn’t picked up just by osmosis.

I was talking to the hubby last night about annual Halloween parties several of our friends have. It was the beginning of the annual debate as to what he’d be dressed up for attending the costume parties. He’d rather not have to buy a costume, and the whole concept of being something you aren’t absolutely eludes him. Exasperated, I suggested he just buy a set of fangs and be a vampire.

He said ok.

And then I said, “Oh wait – maybe I’ll just put a sign on your chest that says ‘I’m a werewolf, don’t piss me off’. I even have a tail you can wear as a fun touch of wolf.”

He responded, “I didn’t think vampires had tails.”

Blink.

I asked him, very slowly, if he missed the transition from vampire to werewolf in the costume discussion. He asked if they were different.

Ah well, as different as we seem, the hubby and I compliment each other in a very ‘opposites attract’ kind of way. He’s the person that reminds me to come back to the real world when I’ve been off wandering amongst the fits and figments of my imagination.

[note: I'm still going to follow up on the werewolf idea. He does tall, muscular and dangerous very well. That in combo with the tail over his very nice derriere is going to be fantastic!]