Have Adventures!

Writing teachers always tell new writers to write what they know. But that’s not exactly true. If it were, we would be so limited. How could you ever write about space travel, if you had never done it? Yet there are science fiction writers out there who have never travelled in space.

As writers, we need to combine what we know with our imagination. But we must also strive for a vast supply of experiences from which to draw. True, research can help fill gaps when writing, but you need to combine the research and imagination with your experiences. To have been there and smelled it and heard it, really helps a writer reach their readers.

My advice: I can’t encourage you enough to go out and have adventures – even if they are close to home. Take photos (your memory will fail you!). Even take notes if you have to – sniff the air, listen as you walk or ride. How would you describe it?

I took this photo on one such adventure this summer and think I will expand the terrain and use it as an environment on a planet in one of my next books!

Summer Inspiration

One of our last summer trips was to Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, NY, which is serving as the inspiration for my second novel.

Like Relic, the plot in Eye of the Peacock will be totally fictionalized and will not resemble the real story of Sonnenberg at all. At 26,000 words in, I needed a little renewed inspiration. I needed to walk the paths my characters are walking, look out the windows they are gazing out, and hear the sounds they would be hearing. It did more than serve the purpose. We also took a formal tour of the property – something we have never done. I got some good basic information and also a neat nugget that might serve as the novel’s big twist.

Not only that, but I was after some photos that might serve as the basis for the cover of the novel.

Quite a productive and enjoyable day!

Use Photos to Inspire

As the school year winds down, I’m gearing up for a writing summer.

Part of that pre-writing preparation involves finding photos that inspire me. For my next supernatural mystery, Eye of the Peacock, I am lucky enough to have photographed the location that provides the most inspiration for the story. But I also scan the internet for people, scenery, and historical events that help keep my descriptions focused and help me imagine the story.

Sometimes I drop these photos right at the top of my page as I write, and then remove them later. In Relic, some of the photos even made it into the book as chapter illustrations.

I’m even collecting photos for my next project, yet untitled, but planned to be a futuristic adventure.

Taking My Own Advice!

Eye of the Peacock continues to evolve.

Currently, I am trying to mold several characters. Frankly, they are giving me trouble. Sometimes it takes me a while to realize I need to follow my own advice!

I turned to research.

Many of my writing group collegues are very good a choosing names that give insight into the character. So I visited some name websites. The characters will be imigrants to this country at the turn of the century, so I looked for European names and specifically looked for meanings that fit their role in the story. This won’t mean much to my readers – unless they are looking for hidden meanings, but it will help keep me on track with their personalities.

I also started looking for photographs for inspiration. These characters are working-class men and boys, so that’s what I looked for. I came up with a few that will help me pinpoint facial features and clothing. I even hit pay dirt and found a video of turn-of-the-century workers walking down the street. I can see their movements and their clothing. This will be very helpful!

 

Out and About

While I wait for my final proof of the cover for Relic, and as summer wanes, my family decided to take a day-cation to Letchworth State Park in New York. Located along the Genesee River, there are beautiful vistas of the gorge and three waterfalls.

The hikes in the woods and along the gorge reminded me that there is a calmness of the soul that I experience when I am able to enjoy nature. Maybe it was that clear mind that just made my imagination leap. Everywhere I looked I saw settings for my writing. I was clicking away on my camera recording unusual trees, rocks, buildings and landscapes for future reference.

Nature is important for a writer to experience. Note the lighting at different times of day, the smells, the sounds. The better a writer can describe a setting, the more completely readers will be transported.

Author Page Photo

With only a day or two until the layout of  Relic is complete, I thought it about time to consider a photograph of myself for the “About the Author” blurb.

I have always been one who is more comfortable behind the camera taking the photos than in front of the camera. While on assignment as a newspaper reporter, I often had to take my own photos of news events.

Over the past several years, my husband and I have noticed that our oldest daughter has quite an eye for photos. So, Saturday morning, since I was feeling in a relatively photographic mood, I asked her to take some photos of me. The one here is the one we chose. Normally, a very unhappy  photo subject, I'm relatively happy with this one!

 

Thanks sweetie!

 

So Many Decisions

"It’s never too late to be what you might have been."

                                             -       George Eliot

 

I’m sorry that I haven’t been around, but remember my first job is teaching. The end of the year is a busy time.

I have squeezed in some time to play with the page layout of

Relic – just enough to make me anxious and excited to get rolling full speed. I’ve had time to play with font styles for chapter numbers, chapter titles, and possible drop caps.

I’ve realized my paragraph indents are too big for a small page. I’ll have to hand adjust each one unless I can find a quicker fail-safe way. I’ve also started to drop in photos at the beginning of each chapter, but that has only impressed upon me how many more photos I have to take.

Plus I have to find time to finalize the map of Willowbend and the floor plan of Hydrangea Hall. I’m spending a lot of mental time trying to figure out what style I want them to be. Should they look like a young person drew them? Should they be a pencil sketch? Marker and water color? Should they be child-like, or drawn by a person with some artistic talent?

So many decisions to be made….

I can’t wait!

Next Steps

Now that Relic is written, I fear the real work has begun!

I’m working on a final edit. After that I plan to read the entire manuscript aloud to check for any final tweeks. Then it’s all about laying out the inside pages with my photography at the start of each chapter. I’m going to use a marketing person to write a blurb for the back cover. I need to worry about ISBN numbers and Library of Congress numbers and dedications and acknowledgements.

While I work on preparing the inside of the book, I’ve engaged the services of graphic artist Aaron LaPorta to design the cover. I’ve sent him a summary and my author’s notes for an initial direction. He’s great at the work he does for the Buffalo Bills, so I’m sure he’ll do a terrific job. I’m really excited about how he’ll imagine my book for me.

I’d love Relic to hit the market by August, but I don’t know if that’s realistic!

 

The Quest Begins

I spent Friday on a quest – to begin compiling the art work for Relic. I knew what I needed. I’ve pictured this book in my head for a long time. I needed a photo for each chapter. Some I knew I could stage closer to home, but others needed the authenticity of a small village. I also needed a map of Samantha’s new village for the front inside cover and a floor plan of a house for the back inside cover.

Armed with my shot list, my camera, a sketch pad, a pencil and my manuscript, I headed out early for the village that inspired the setting of Relic. I started at the historian’s office – the one that actually inspired the historian’s office that Sam and Twyla visit. Historians have got to be some of the best people out there. A major shout out to local historians Doris Bannister and Doug Norton, who went out of their way to help me fill in gaps in my memory and may have even given me a idea for book number three!

After gathering information from Doris's files, I continued to the center of the village that inspired the setting of Relic. This is where the bulk of my work would have to be done. I drove through and sketched the village, took a couple photos of the village including the Middlebury Academy and some nice gingerbread houses.

Now, combined with some other photos in my files and a few more to be taken locally, I’m ready to start preparing the manuscript for publishing!

 

The Adventure Continues

Several months ago, author Wendy Corsi Staub advised me to independently publish Relic. Stubbornly, I continued to query agents. I had given myself an unofficial deadlne – summer. Now summer is a few weeks away, so I am mentally preparing. I think there is a lot of work ahead.

I have always imagined how I want Relic to look. I’ve always wanted small line drawings at the start of every chapter. I have prepared a shot list – photographs that I am going to turn into line drawings. And I’ve scheduled a day next week to go on an adventure and get the photos done. I plan to use the tools available to me in Word to turn the photos into line drawings.

Included in the adventure is also a quest to complete floor plans and a village map for the inside jackets – two things I’ve always imagined for my book.

I’m excited again!