Evolutionary Plume

Panama Day 20: Bocas del Toro

Today started brighter and warmer and after breakfast and private time together, Bob and I walked to Pika Point where we found a neat little hostel, restaurant and surf joint where we had drinks—Bob beer and I diet coke. On the way, we birded, finding many creeks, coral patches, 1 variegated squirrel and what not that I photographed to my heart’s content. By the time we returned, we were both hot and sweaty and ready for the pool. But our key didn’t work. Once in the pool, Bob found a dead grasshopper bigger than my hand. I suggested he show the two young girls who called their brother and sister to come look. The kids attacked it with splashing, trying to make it move away from the edge—the corpse was soon floating mid pool where it was hard to avoid. I splashed it to the edge where Bob picked it up and through it out—ick. It did not come back to life, poor thing.  This time the kids took our inclusion of them in the episode as an okay for them to get into the adult pool where they played and soon began running and jumping into it. The pool is plenty big and it didn’t affect us a bit. The hotel is much busier now.

After a shower and dressing, we took a taxi into town. The taxis act like part of the bus system, cost is $1 to town per person. The taxi already had three people in it when we got on board, one departed soon, the other two and their bike delivered near the airport. The taxi driver waited while Bob got cash and then suggested Pirates for dinner (since this is Sunday and not everyone is open). That sounded fine to me since it was on the water and had a varied menu. It turned out Pirates was crowded but soon the crowd left and was replaced by another crowd. Bob ordered his usual drink of a whole lime squeezed, gin and hielo (ice) and one for me. The drink was pretty stiff and I forgot to order the bottle of water I wanted since I felt quite parched. I gave my drink to Bob when the waitress came back and got water and a sangria—they think the wine with pineapple and I think pineapple juice and it was quite sweet but  I soon got used to it while drinking water. Bob ordered lobster (only $25) with French fries and salad and I had fried shrimp with rice and a plate of limon. I couldn’t finish my rice and skipped all the beans, but the salad was very good. Bob added an additional $5 tip to the waitress that pleased her immensely. When we left, I teased Bob that his hat didn’t make him look more sober so he asked the table next to us and one guy said, you look fine but I don’t know about her. We all laughed.

We found no taxis on the street but across the street from Pirates was a small grocery where we found M&Ms, potato chips, mina’s, and cashews. I wanted supplies in case we actually get to go on a tour tomorrow.

We returned to our room and the deck but soon found downstairs by the pool a better choice to write.

Birds:

Great-tailed Grackle, Bananaquit, Great Kiskadee, Amazon Kingfisher, Tropical Peewee, House Wren, Redbreasted Blackbird (out of range, short tail), Groove-billed Ani, Panama Flycatcher, Blueblack Grassquit, Passerini’s Tanager, Spotted Sandpiper, Great Black Hawk, Magnificent Frigatebird, Belted Kingfisher, Turkey Vulture, Wilson’s Plover, Willet (breeding colors), Variable Seedeater (Caribbean slope colors), Blackpoll Warbler

 

Panama Trip Day 14: Flight to David and Drive to Finca Lerida, Boquete, Panama

We skip breakfast, shower and pack up. No taxi is waiting so Bob sees a guy and waves him down. The cab looks dangerous to my health—bald, skiddable tires that are a bit low and very limited brakes. We get to the airport just fine, passing others wanting to flag him down. We ask him where to eat in David, but he tells us eat tamales, fruit and a special spiced meat. He tells us he goes swimming in the hot summers at the Grand Canyon and takes his young son and says, yes, there is crocodiles—his son fell into the river and they both got quite scared.

At the airport, I watch people sit near each other and share pictures of their families on their telephones. A lady asks me if we are going to David and I reply yes, she said, she had just come for the day to see her daughter. I ask if her daughter is married, and if she has grandchildren, she says yes. I tell her Bob’s kids haven’t given us grandchildren.

The flight to David is remarkable smooth via Taca Airlines Aeroperlas. Bob wasn’t able to get the Panama Airlines website to work. While we waited for out flight, many people arrived without luggage, bought tickets, then left again at the Panama Airlines ticket counter. Aeroperlas wasn’t as busy—they must be the late comers to town. The airport is expanding another wing and another floor.

The Hertz people are super nice to us and get us set up in a four-wheel drive vehicle and give us directions through town. They laugh when we verify the location of McDonald’s—we’ve struck out on the internet, and with three or four people asking where to eat in David. McDonald’s worked—while we ate, I convinced Bob to take the alternative road to Finca Lerida by going north from Chiriqui—it’s the same one to Bocas del Toro for a short time, but part of the way will be new since we’ll take the other route back to David.

The road follows Chiriqui River and eventually we come to a dam, muddy water flooding over the spillways. I think that’s highly unusual since this is the dry season. The road has several places where we could pull off and do a little birding. By the time we get to Finca Lerida, it’s raining quite hard—no wonder the water was rushing over the dam.

We found Finca Lerida with ease, signs pointing at the key places one might wonder. We check in wearing our Harry Potter plastic ponchos—the guy at the desk laughs at us, and haul luggage to our room wearing the same and using the umbrellas they provide.

Finca Lerida has a bar, restaurant, café—all sell locally made gifts of jewelry, coffee, cosmetics, and cute mugs and other stuff with hummingbirds and toucans. Our room has a private porch with a couple of padded chairs that looks over the garden—we immediately get four lifers.  Then we check to see if the bar is open, yes, restaurant open, yes, and pick up a trail map at the office. We delay our tour possibly in case it is still raining in the morning. The man at the office helps us identify the tanager. The lighting is awfully weird tonight due to the rain and all the birds wet and low light.

They open the bar for us and we try to bird but finally it is too late. Then we try dinner at the restaurant. I have the pork chop and Bob the River Trout with cashews. Fresh made bread is a win. The meal tasty. The rum cake with strawberries and oregano and ice cream is wonderful. Our room is chilly, the rain mostly stopped but the wind is blowing quite fiercely even knocking the greenhouse roof over the coffee machinery off. There’s a spare blanket, robe and slippers, full screen tv, and the internet is accessible from our room. Pretty nifty.

Birds: Great-tailed Grackle, Clay-colored Thrush, Cattle Egret, Red-crowned Woodpecker, Blue-gray Tanager, Panama Flycatcher, Smooth-billed Ani, Fork-tailed Flycatcherx3, Variable Seedeater, Rufous Collared Sparrow, White-naped Brush-Finch, Violet Sabrewing (hummingbird), Green Violetear (hummingbird), Flame Collared Tanager, and Yellow-headed Caracara

 

Panama Trip Day 13 : Melia Panama Canal near Colon to Country Inn and Suites, Panama City

Today was a laundry day—everything we have is dirty. We wake up late, have breakfast, shower and head to Panama City. Bob skips any side trip. Instead we go to Amador Causeway and try the Buffalo Steak House. It’s okay—my fish comes with tasty stir fry but no garlic. Even the garlic bread has little garlic. Bob’s Brochette’s of filet, chicken and prawns is cooked just done, the meat tender, and he eats it with the grilled onion and is happy. We skip dessert until later.

We find that we can check in early by an hour and immediately set to work sorting laundry. Bob finishes all the loads while I work on this week’s essay—it doesn’t fit the assignment. I expect they will shoot me, just kidding.

(Gorgeous trees and views along the Amador causeway offer shelter from the intense heat, protection from the rain, introduction to unusual trees, and places to rest, fun.)

After the laundry is finished I cheat with peanut butter cookies, Bob with chocolate chip and then go for a walk up the waterfront and back. I write some more (mostly planning i.e. seeing how many word on how many scenes and adding scenes).

Then Bob is ready for drinks—I cheat and have the Ultimate Mud Slide, Bob is defeated by the bar being out of limon, so he settles for gin with a jigger of margarita juice.

Easy day, quick night to go to bed, we have a flight in the morning.

Birds: Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Tricolored Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Little Blue Heron, Great Kiskadee, Rock Pigeon

 

Panama Trip Day Three: Panama City to Punta Patino

Wake up at 4:00 was painful since even though we tried to go to bed early, we were both up at midnight. Bob gave me plenty of time to do my yoga exercises and finally my body seems to be settling outPacking was easily accomplished. Our pickup by Ancon expeditions was timely, our driver Eric was good-humored, helpful, and got us all the way to the boat with no problems. In our group is Juan, Issa, Carlos, Rachel, Dave and us. We’re a friendly bunch dedicated to birding.

Breakfast was a trial to me, I didn’t expect to have to order food and not really hungry then rejected the meal I ordered because I asked for tortilla and got corn cakes instead of the tortilla look alike which is more like fry bread and called olhabra by sound but maybe not spelled right. It is dough made of flour, salt, water and deep fried. I tried for agua but was offered unasked for coffee, then when asked again, received tea. Luckily, Bob order botille de agua, and that was delivered. Good thing because I finished it all. And my water bottle full, and some of Bob’s.

The drive through Darien was mostly agricultural land with many inspection stops. The cattle rangers have a breed obviously with some sort of mix with Brahmin beef. The fencing is done in a cool manner—live trees with barb wire stapled to them. Many places, even small towns, a show of firecrackers has declared this still to be Carnivale.  Music is played from speakers to keep areas bopping.

The drive was almost interminable and I found myself catnapping occasionally since the scenery was mostly unchanging. The Panamanians build in odd places and don’t seem to have a planning grid which they use. Sometimes homes are built with squared off houses, mostly modern places, but many are build following the line of coast, gully or hillside. Hunks of gravel from the roadside get dug up, with no sign of ownership but there are commercial gravel pits. The homes have the Spanish style with wrought iron over doors and or windows, red tiled roofs or metal, and cement block construction in many places. In some town, one guy is in charge of being the housing goods distributor. Many people seem unsure which style home they like, some with three on the same property, one built with thatched roof, one build modern and cinderblock and one built with sheet metal roofs. Most people look like they prefer sleeping in hammocks out of doors and cooking on outside barbecues. The people have all been very friendly. Grocery stores are widely used. Garbage is trouble.

Our boat trip goes down a large mangrove-fronted river to the ocean then in and around a bunch of islands until we reach Punta Patino.

Our Cottages at Punta Patino

 

Deibyus is our guide here at Punta Patino.

Birds:

Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Osprey, Blue Gray Tanager, Broad-winged Hawk, Black-tailed Trogon, Band-rumped Swift, Keel-billed Toucan, Crested Oropendula, Chestnut-headed Oropendula, Lesser-swallow-tailed Swift, Prothonotary Warbler, Great Kiskadee, Spotted Sandpiper, Greyheaded Chachalaca, Cattle Egret, Yellow-headed Caracara, Great-tailed Grackle, Black Vulture, Smooth-billed Ani, Tropical Kingbird, Tropical Mockingbird, Turkey Vulture, Magnificent Frigatebird, Great Egret, Brown Pelican, White Ibis, Red Crowned Woodpecker, Black-chested Jay

 

Chicken, goat, cow, dog, horse, and I saw many White Muscovy Domestic Ducks

 

4GL Phone Learning Curve and My Writing

I am having a mini-vacation from writing. Today, a story popped into mind on the golf course and I typed in my new Notepad app. Problem is, I am not sure, yet, where my SD card goes and I found the file, but am not sure if there is any word processing package that imports the file. The SD chip problem will be resolved easily by looking at the phone documentation and I think, by removing the protective casing. The import problem though is not as easily resolved. The email app didn't offer the ability to attach a file so just emailing it to myself isn't a very good solution, although I could do lots of cuts and pastes which may or may not be quicker than retyping it. 

The mini-vacation only lasts a few more days then I am back at school at UCLA Continuing Education taking a refresher on grammar of all things and memoir writing. I've been doing some articles in this mode--I've already sampled the class book which is very inspirational. My classes at UCF were a no-go this semester since I was going to be out of town and there weren't any available online classes. My writing mini-vacation has freed me from the write lots of articles mode to thinking about what articles I want to research and write. And to do other planning i.e. find my memoir outline and started articles that were in a notebook and get them online. And I found I had over thirty stories started and did some planning for the research needs to complete them. Most of the time, I get held up on a story because of the requirement to research then write an article, then go back to story writing. I think that if I just follow my own mode of working again that I will be more successful than flying off the cuff of my mind. I miss writing a new scene everyday and am held up by not knowing if I am accepted into any Master's degree program for writing and what will be expected. I guess I can write another dozen novel outlines since that is all I seem to be allowed to do to completion, lol, just kidding.

Getting Back to Blogging About Writing

Since I moved to Florida, my blogs have been somewhat in disuse and now that I am back working on fiction, I figure I can do some more blogging. I often get asked what it is I do since no one really believes that anyone just sits and writes day in and day out. It's true I don't. Often I know what I want to write but the right words aren't there for me so I play games while I think, then write when the words are there. Many times I make a rough start, run out of words, play games until they come back, edit, play games until I know how to fix the piece, etc.

When I am problem solving I need to detach my brain from thinking about anything but the problem. Often I think about the problem without thinking about the problem by playing a game. It's a trick I learned while programming. I often would run into a difficulty, but if I just went to the bathroom, halfway there, the answer would come to me. Your back brain computes on problems like "what was the name of that guy we ate dinner with last week?" Things that you can't google. Instead your brain looks for all the hidden references and eventually comes up with the connection. I don't learn any more, either.  I just learn where it is that has the information I need. Often in storing the connections I reach understanding about how the pieces fit together and so I remember it all in that fashion.

So in the past week, what I have been working on is planning mostly since I completed a large amount of work and needed to clarify what I thought I was working on and why and for whom.

I've been working on the last edits to my second novel. I had it edited during my move and I found that the editor introduced more errors into my novel than she fixed. Her premise was that it would work better as a young adult novel. Unfortunately, I wrote it as a novel about a community and for a slightly older audience even though I wanted it acceptable to young adults with permissive parents. Any one character didn't ever know what everyone was doing. The editor suggested deletion of important technology and setting. She did ask for a chronological story and the best I could do was two side by side chronologies, both going forward always from the beginning to the end. I did one whack at a fix and then my husband did a proofread and found a few typo'sthroughout here and there. The biggest change, though, that my husband found, was inconsistencies in my story dates and five chapters were out of order due to a number of reasons. How the story dates are presented has been an ongoing problem. I had them explicit, then made them implicit to work on an easier more flowing story, then made them explicit as a video collection, changed them to a news feed but both read more complicated so I am back to theoriginal explicit style and am finding the story reads without needing to look at the dates at all. Success, I guess.

I'm also working on short stories related to this second novel which may fit a number of calls for content so I've built a schedule for the rest of the month/year for that. These I've had to look for the research I did before and think about what the plot will be and how they should be built or revised. And did the research on some of the items. 

I have four separate novels in work at the moment, and one short story collection outlined and another collection being built. One novel is a follow on to the first novel I wrote so I am writing short stories in that story line, especially with the hopes it will get published. One is a children's book that is made up of stories so I have 3 or 4 short stories in rough stages from that book and an outline I am following and an outer storyline begun. The other two started from the idea that I was going to build a trilogy and so I have been writing short stories for that, partly to copyright the characters and some of the technology. And as I take classes, instructors often ask for a certain type of scene or have an objective for writing. I try to fit those in with my the novels by having a topic list and an outline and a set of research materials for everything I am working on. Often these become a short story as I flesh them out. And because I am applying for an MFA program, I needed sample material that I assumed would be from what I planned to write so I built some of the work for those. 

So my plan is to get the second novel out circulating to agents, publishers, and contests. And the short stories written to my schedule.

I also have three nonfiction books in work. My target was to just work the golf book this month but the wedding set me back two weeks. Oh, and do one sonnet a day since I am working on a collection of sonnets. I'm up to 8-10 and I need 20-25 but have another four in work at the moment and two I want to submit. I am also working on cleaning up my chapbooks as a potential book, and on two additional chapbooks, one on sffh poems, one on a reflective set of poems, one on teen trauma poems.

I've also worked on a number of articles behind the scenes. Typically, any time we travel, I get photos of where we stayed, where we went, and visit places that are on my target list for research. So my visit to Boston for my cousin's wedding produced much of that. I have an assignment at Yahoo on China articles and have researched quite a few topics that I find interesting but they don't happen to be the news of the moment--just interesting knowledge about the country in a variety of formats that need more facts to be ready. I also have worked some on taking some of my coursework at UCF and looked at altering them to be a article, doing some of the preliminary research. Plus I just started in at UCLA Extension on a class on writing articles for print publications--so I've been through Writer's Market looking at agents, conferences, and article types, read the 8+ chapters assigned for both weeks and looked through my available photographs. I have probably a dozen article in work, I just need time to flesh them out.

I also started painting my house. It is a color I don't really care for and is quite depressing to me. I like flowers and we're currently more like hedge. So we had the colors  approved and I washed one side and began painting. My husband says we should hire it out and I think we may hire some of the work done. But I go crazy if I am forced to sit for endless hours and do nothing but write. So this is my outside work I get to do that isn't immobile. I want the house painted before I start a Masters degree because once I start I won't have time to do it. And I want some of this work that's been idling while I've been busy with classes at UCF to get completed so that I just package and submit until it gets accepted.

 

Started My New Book

Got all twenty-one chapters outlined with the major characters and managed to write the introduction, worth 1000 words. Not too good but if it goes as easy to day, it may just blast out. Strange to think that non-fiction can be fun.

Writing My New Space Opera Trilogy

I'm moving out of my comfort zone in writing my new space opera trilogy and into outer space. The time span covers eons and has an alien protagonist. I've begun to hear her voice again. I started writing bits of it after my return from my first Earthwatch trip to Belize where we participated on an archaeology project. The work on the project was tedious but taught basic skills in laying out gridwork, protecting and uncovering artifacts and buildings, working in a challenging environment--the team had to move trantulas bigger than my hand out of our work area. They had a brilliant orange body and hairy black legs. The tendency was to want to scoop them up with a shovel and toss, but we were told that they had found out that doing so killed the tarantulas, so they were moved with care. The first time we saw the Mayan city it was covered with so much vegetation you couldn't tell that anything was there. The trees covered by vines grew thirty feet tall or more. The leader hired two Mayan locals to cut it all down. It took them at least one day and they were paid $5 per day to hack it all off with machetes. In the process they ran into a pit viper--we were shown the body and then told the emergency treatment in case of bite--basically a shot of antivenom every hour while you were helicoptered out to the closest hospital and then it would be touch and go from there. More on this topic when I get my pictures scanned.

Mostly what I have been working on is the near future pieces and educating myself in a number of topic areas:

The politics for space development and related security issues-- finished reading 

"Chinese Space Policy a Study in Domestic and International Politics" by Roger Handburg and Zhen Li

"Who Owns the Moon" by Virgiliu Pop

"The Politics of Space Security" by James Clay Moltz

and "Return to The Moon" by Harrison H. Schmitt

Studies of Moon Geology

I've read about fifty documents including one eight chapters long from the Apollo era. I should have a story and some articles out on this topic. But I got sidetracked into knowing the history of spacecraft so am spending one or two days on that. I think I only have two-five stories set on the moon, one on Mars, one on an asteroid, one on Jupiter, one on Uranus for sure.

As I get ideas I add them to three documents one called my outline where I sketch out all the major organizations and characters, one called my synopsis where I lay out story, scene ideas, what characters are involved, the time and location and number of words, and a third document that lays out each character, their conflict, resolution and urgency. These help me from getting lost or forgetting important ideas.

Development of Underdeveloped Nations -- finished reading

"Africa's Stalled Development" by David K. Leonard and Scott Straus

in progress on "Industrial Society in Communist China" by Barry Richman

Part of the reason for reading these materials is to envision not only the changes in society, but what the culture of space humans that spread throughout the galaxy need to survive. I'm writing short stories in the series that help explain various societal problems, many of the power players, some of the technology. Meanwhile I've identified at least two ways humans will evolve and the result problems. One of the first of these stories is Layers of Permeability

Also, I'm doing much studying of astronomy to help understand who my aliens are and how they survive. I've had to start back at the atomic level and am just beginning to visualize what is going on with quantum physics and what some of the topic areas I need to delve into to understand what is going on--these things will affect how my aliens eat and travel--two of the main processes that life forms exhibit. I woke this morning thinking that I knew what the Higgs particle looked like but then after I thought about it some I realized what questions I had to research before I knew for sure i.e. dreams without data have not foundation in reality.

My favorite astronomy book at the moment is an encyclopedia called "The Universal Book of Astronomy" by David Darling because it is providing me a structure of topics in which to delve into further.

A Tale of War and Friendship

I had two friends who fought a battle against each other. They both wanted to be my friend. I said sure. When I realized they were at war, I acknowledged it by asking, "so is it war, then?" The answer was yes. During their battle, they both invited me to be friends of their friends. I accepted all that would be friend to me. Then I watched their actions. Those that appeared to give back what I gave, stayed in my group of friends. Those that disappeared, that's life. But I soon saw that my neutrality stance had a penalty. If I talked to one side, my income was threatened temporarily and my friends from that side quit talking to me. If I talked to the other side, my income was threatened permanently and those friends never talked to me again. I ignored this. Then I found out that some of my friends were using me as their punching bag. I decided they wouldn't be friends any longer if they persisted. Some of my other friends made me a soldier in the other friend's army and attacked me. Needless to say, I began to feel friendless and know for certain that anyone that attacks me is not my friend. Rather complex. 

~ So the tale continues, Sheri the Hermit, former Atlas that Shrugged, Sheri that follows Gandhi's way, do thy work and be self-supporting and peaceful--sooner or later these two friends will kill each other and life will be simpler for everyone involved.

 Hmm, more thoughts, the master instructing until the war is over, no space engine to be provided. The aliens that examine with the green shield.

Also, I seem to be writing in tell mode in my first draft of a first person piece -- this is annoying since I'll have to toss out sections and replace with the imagined space of show mode...

New due dates, since last one I was going for wasn't really on the 15th. Hard to stay focused on what I want to writer versus opportunities to write on topics.

Story Writing Compulsion

It's hard to believe that I can keep a story in my head for over four years and finally now have the time to just write it. It's coming out well, bits and pieces--the conflict on the page first and tumbling down through all the decisions then fleshing it out. To be on my target timetable, I was supposed to finish last night.

The good news is my story due at the end of the month is complete except for tweaking and goes to Bob when I get the other one done.

Today I go to get my hair done after three months of mess.

Almost like a theme running in my head. Beauty, we must show our best.

One of the things about just writing the stories you need to tell is that your themes and ideas for your novels can be exposed. Then when you have all the facts collected you can just go.

 

Why Silence is Needed

When writing, there's always the critic that says  "did you say what I want you to say in the way that I want you to say it when I want you to say it" that is very destructive. These you have to turn off.

I have things I want to say, places I want to go, things I want to experience.

I've had a group of people that bite at me continually with the refrain "if you don't listen to what we say, you will get nowhere". This is despite the fact that most of my work has gone through several critiques both in person and online and via an editor and I have made all the changes suggested. So why am I not now there, in critique?

I've grown up. I want to check that I said what I meant to say in my internal filter first. And of course the complexities of moving across the country hasn't helped. When I need it, I will ask for it.

When people don't accept you as a grown up, they do things like nag, interrupt repeatedly asking for attention, criticize, and don't respect your space, time, or need for exercise, for clean up, for quiet.

Fatigue and Guilt and Thank Yous

Sometimes I get so tied up in the guilt over what people want me to do -- the articles, the reviews, the books read, that I feel weighed down and exhausted.

Bob is running away tomorrow to go birdwatching without me while I work stories. That means tonight I work on guilt, lol.

Sometimes I think people don't think I appreciate what they do for me. Some of it has been so pssst, psst, secret, secret that maybe they deserve their hurt feelings, if they exist. I always try to be open and to thank people--with donations, with time, with friendship, etc. But this is a really trying time for me. I have to release everything and I care too much about what it is, how it appears, how it is received. Maybe when I am older and more jaded I will laugh.

Tightening and Fleshing Out Stories and Other Marketing Problems for an Author

Editing for me is very tense. Every paragraph is checked endlessly. I'm working three stories. One is a revision of a completed story to make it into a time travel / alternate universe story. This means that I've needed to figure out how to explain the time travel portion and put the main character's awareness of the change to his life in terms of historical props and news items. I've had to identify where the changes go, lay out time lines, and find historical and science facts to support it.

I've also taken the time to do the reading on time travel and a lot of the science that explains why it might work enough to know some of the parameters--mostly how E=MC*C is tested but then I realized I had to know more about the energy parts of the equation and more about quantum mechanics in order to write the article and book reviews.

The good thing about this research is I have 2-3 more stories where this research will stand me in good stead and have worked on the plotting issues involved in them.

The second story was well outlined and except for the end, is in pretty good shape. The verbs were rather over used and inactive and I have a lot of weasel words to remove. Plus, when I wrote it, I knew the "three or more" technological changes that would be showcased, but I hadn't done the indepth research. As I found the articles, I found more lifestyle issues that had to be found, and several NASA and other articles dealing with the same topic. This one is almost ready to go to Bob for an edit. I want to complete this one tonight. It's probably still flawed as a story entirely based on a scientific principle ... I may have to push the story a bit further in that area.

Both the second and third stories were originally envisioned as part of my trilogy but it may be that they will go into a simpler one novel book or just exist stand alone for awhile. For this reason, the third story has the story part complete but the technology / science works but I'm not sure that it is exactly what I want it to be. I need to do a whole lot more materials science investigation before I'm sure and meanwhile there are easier stories for me to complete, especially one where I have all the research spread over my office table waiting for the moment when I can go back to it. Mostly I've worked on the transitions between the scenes and further development of the overall metaphor for the story.

I also looked into some of the hoped for "buy" markets where I will send these stories for a read.

Meanwhile, Bob and I have been discussing agents, publishers, synopses, blurbs, credentials and maybe one more small revision of my second novel before I send it out. I was told the most likely audience for it would be young adult. I'm not sure I'm happy with that decision. The outer view of what the men are doing helps to balance out the story and make it less feminist, while adding more tension. We are also due in Houston on Oct. 8, so after I get the three stories out I want to do, I need to work the web page. 

I held off on the article writing because it seems to take on its own life and purpose so much so that I lose track of what I am doing and why I am doing all of this. I'll fit in articles when I get back to knowing what I'm working on--reading 40000+ words and knowing where I am going. I am trying to work for too many masters that want something different than what I want. I want my trilogy and other stories.

Also, we've taken some timid moves into finding more "community" in our lives. My mom plans to come for a visit and I need to plan that too. Bob is cheered by the idea that I might clean this "dump" of paper up. Meanwhile, I can barely see because my glasses are so awful. 

Undisturbed Time for Edit

I'm awake with a stomach ache so I thought I'd describe my latest two days of work. By having peace and quiet for a few days, I was able to spot the problem with the middle of my novel--there's a missing piece of logic that connects all the major lines of conflict to their points of resolution. The main drivers of global warming, viability of the housing situation, the strange occurrences need to be part of my heroine's understanding of what her role in life entails. So ... I have to build that in. It involves rearrangement of quite a few of the scenes, plus some emotional arc work. More frustration but it should intensify the drive to the end. Anyway while I was sitting and staring at the walls and swimming and not writing, I actually built the modification plan that will guide me through the changes. I have an additional two scnes to write that I hadn't expected. So busy busy.

Editing My Adventurer

The editor recommended that I delete some of the outer story scenes until after the characters show up, so I am adding the information content from those scenes to my adventurer's scenes so there's a lot of copy, edit, revise, rewrite going on in this next change I am dealing with. Its pushing the science a little more without being info-dumping. Doing this also improves the tension level because there's always the question, who is doing this? When will the characters come together. About 20000 words are affected. It's the last of the major changes I have to work. I made it through the first 23 chapters and got the new chapter layout finished with chapters at 2000 words approx. and breaking on a day change. There are a couple chapters that exceed that limit that I may slash.

What I am cutting is mostly conjunctions and overcomplicated ways of saying items, travel, too much explanation, character physicalities where they don't matter -- all the stuff that slows the reading down.

Also managed to reinstate the modern story leading to past events being told and then the main character reacting in the modern story leading to the next backstory items. This also serves to increase tension, but helps with the understanding that this character is being groomed and is growing from the experience. Only had to move two or three chapters and rewrite the transitions.

I've got the first 12 chapters dates and locales put in also--I'm at 30 some chapters this way--the last chapter breaks were at 5000 words and for changing POV. The new chapters have consistent POV but there are usually 2, sometimes 3 chapters from that POV before moving to the next character.

Editing Continues But I'm Closer than Ever

Managed to put the entire novel into chapters again. I had it in time related sections and I got feedback that that wasn't really appreciated by a reader. I may put the sections in, in addition, will see if it is needed--I think with page costs expensive, it probably shouldn't be done if not needed. I have put it back into chapters but they are uneven running 6000 words, 4000, 3000, and 2000. I think I can make even 1500 word or 2000 word chapters and it will still read well and maybe even improve the read if the correspond to when the day changes. That change should be fairly simple. Meanwhile I've spell-checked 10 chapters and made cuts on 5 or 6 chapters, removing a minimum of 200 words. It seems like a small change but getting rid of the too wordy areas a reader  drags through allows them to blast through and keep turning pages, which is the ultimate goal. I've also managed to rewrite several of the sections. I found I have three more small ones to do. Its frustrating to not be done but on the other hand, I know it needs it so, so will an editor or agent.

Providing Explicit Critique Part II--Gibberish about characters

Well, the second part of my message disappeared so, any way to continue. Gibberish to me is noise that comes back after you have provided a critique to someone. The rules of the game we were given was 1) never argue. The critiquer isn't interested, in general, to why you think they are wrong about your story. Here's some common things that can go wrong and how you might interpret them:

1) I can't relate to character x--they are so unbelievable or that would never happen:

Think about who gave you the comment. Is such a character likely in their experience? I was on jury duty during a time when my girl friend and I partied at some of the night clubs around Pioneer Square. The question came up whether or not a "non-hooker" girl would ever be about on 1st Avenue in Seattle at 10:00 pm on a Sunday. My experience said yes. Two-thirds of the jury responded that only hookers would be out. Result : hung jury. This happened several times.

How do you fix this problem?

Maybe you don't. Maybe these people aren't in your target audience. Or maybe your story needs to add more information. Sometimes the problem is your character hasn't provided enough physical and emotional responses.

Providing explicit critique

When I started writing and learned how to give and recieve critique, I quickly found that my best friends were the ones that wanted to hear about the problems in their manuscript. To me it meant they were dedicated to turning their story into the best story they could make. It meant they didn't want to hide from work or from learning. I have never given harsh critique in the spirit of decimating my closest competitor. Instead, when I look at a story, I look to see how it is structured and how the character develops. If I supply an explicit explanation of what needs to happen, it is because I'm communicating what's wrong in something that I think has great potential to improve. And if I've given praise--that is not just because you're supposed to, but because I meant it. Don't cry about honest critique -- fix your story and profit from the help you were given.

Oh, by the way, don't waste my time with gibberish in response.

Believability & characterization in writing

I guess I read somewhere that if an author makes you cry, you can be sure that they have cried ten times or more while they've written it. People don't cry unless they've felt the pain and anguish involved. So in order to write it convincingly, an author has to have been there. If you read something and it is awful and yet it doesn't feel that awful--either the writer hasn't had the experience or they haven't allowed themselves into that pain.

It's not enough to have the flexibility of brain that allows you to see inside other human beings, but you have to have had the experience, at least a similarity of experience that allows you to write it. It seems that when you create a character that everyone wants to defend, they go to the nearest source--the one that looks similar to how I wrote it without every understanding that I would never write it that way. No character of mine resembles any of the people I have met in my life. I take one person's hair, another  person's problems, another persons way of walking, and make someone else that exists in my writing and no where else.

But every one of them was me first. That's why authors are told to write what they know.

And what is the biggest reason that someone will deny their feelings and the evidence before their eyes and reject a truth? It's because the evidence violates some deep seated-belief about the way that society operates. Like drug problems are a minority issue. Like behavior outside the norm causes ostracism rather than the opposite--the people doing the ostracism can't bend far enough to allow an outsider inside. Like a woman could know science and math.

Someday when you face death in the face, repeatedly, you too will know fear and when deaths calls for you wearing the face of someone you love you will know anguish.

Believability & characterization in writing

I guess I read somewhere that if an author makes you cry, you can be sure that they have cried ten times or more while they've written it. People don't cry unless they've felt the pain and anguish involved. So in order to write it convincingly, an author has to have been there. If you read something and it is awful and yet it doesn't feel that awful--either the writer hasn't had the experience or they haven't allowed themselves into that pain.

It's not enough to have the flexibility of brain that allows you to see inside other human beings, but you have to have had the experience, at least a similarity of experience that allows you to write it. It seems that when you create a character that everyone wants to defend, they go to the nearest source--the one that looks similar to how I wrote it without every understanding that I would never write it that way. No character of mine resembles any of the people I have met in my life. I take one person's hair, another  person's problems, another persons way of walking, and make someone else that exists in my writing and no where else.

But every one of them was me first. That's why authors are told to write what they know.

And what is the biggest reason that someone will deny their feelings and the evidence before their eyes and reject a truth? It's because the evidence violates some deep seated-belief about the way that society operates. Like drug problems are a minority issue. Like behavior outside the norm causes ostracism rather than the opposite--the people doing the ostracism can't bend far enough to allow an outsider inside. Like a woman could know science and math.

Someday when you face death in the face, repeatedly, you too will know fear and when deaths calls for you wearing the face of someone you love you will know anguish.

Margie Lawson EDITS Editing Class at Tacoma CC

Last weekend I spent two days in Margie Lawson's EDITS method editing class at Tacoma CC and had a great time working through four of my chapters of my novel. My husband also attended and worked on two of the chapters. I learned a few new techniques and a whole lot of vocabulary about things that I did in my writing sort of well, and how to improve it so it really rings true. Fun class.

Meanwhile, I've also judged in two contests and have been working on critiques to get my novel through the critique process, and of course I had to come down sick, too. Oh, well.

Finished a few writing articles :

Tips for Writing a Science Fiction Novel

Do Coloring Books Make Senior Citizens Brainier?

Top Ten MindBlowing Science Fiction Books

More fun coming down the road in the next months.

Writing Science Fiction

I've been in Florida for the past month visiting relatives, writing articles, and meeting some new favorite people and places. My novel is progressing well, have the outline settled and a good portion edited. While I've been editing, I've managed to iron down some of the tips for what makes good science fiction in my mind. This has been based on reading a variety of the classics and new books and from discussions with my friends. Read more> Oh, and also on reading those all time classics on how to write science fiction "World's of Wonder" by David Gerrold, "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card, and "How to Write Tales of Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction" by Robert Bloch.

Marketing your articles at Specusphere

I wrote this article about using spreadsheet to manage the marketing of my writing. It includes spreadsheets for tracking hits and for managing your exposure. Included also is a discussion about managing your contacts, understanding your themes, and using bookmark services. It's a lot of hard work but eventually it pays off in hits.

read more | digg story

Using Spreadsheets to Track Tax Data for Your Writing

A neat article about how to use spreadsheets to collect the data you need to pay your taxes for your home business or writing business..

read more

Folders and other writing supplies from RapidSupplies

RapidSupplies is a great source for paper folders. They have folders of every type and size. They have medical folders, colored top tab folders and colored end tab folders, and more. They also have hanging folders and the tabs. You can also find dividers in the same area. They come in different amounts and RapidSupplies offers bulk discounts and free shipping on orders of more than $75. They take most credit cards in payment via GeoTrust hacker safe security. RapidSupplies carries most office supplies and offers them from a product sorted web site. You can track your order from their site. This is a paid post.

Home Writing Business: Build the Spreadsheets Needed for Taxes

The article discusses the basic book keeping information needed to file your taxes when operating a small home business, especially a writing or arts business. It describes how to set up spreadsheets. It discusses where the information is used when filing your taxes..

read more | digg story

Kaleidotrope and How to Start a Webzine

The editor, Fred Coppersmith at Kaleidotrope has a new blog. He's opened submissions to year-round. Kaleidotrope published one of my poems in March and two more are due out in October. This is a fun 'zine--the humor is good. I cracked up reading the "Reader Personality Quiz" and "Wonan the Barbarian and the Sentence of Certain Death". But not all the stories/articles/poems are funny. I really liked "Three Stories--Nothing was Enough, Spider's Landing, and Circle Run" by Beth Landford, possibly because I'm studying short fiction at the moment. Good value all around.

Fred's page points to two good article by John Klima, editor of Electric Velocipede about starting your own e-zine.

Kaleidotrope and How to Start a Webzine

The editor, Fred Coppersmith at Kaleidotrope has a new blog. He's opened submissions to year-round. Kaleidotrope published one of my poems in March and two more are due out in October. This is a fun 'zine--the humor is good. I cracked up reading the "Reader Personality Quiz" and "Wonan the Barbarian and the Sentence of Certain Death". But not all the stories/articles/poems are funny. I really liked "Three Stories--Nothing was Enough, Spider's Landing, and Circle Run" by Beth Landford, possibly because I'm studying short fiction at the moment. Good value all around.

Fred's page points to two good article by John Klima, editor of Electric Velocipede about starting your own e-zine.

More on the Pacific Northwest Writer's Conference

One of the workshops I attended at the conference was hosted by Jennifer McCord of Jennifer McCord Associates, and Roberta Trahan, of Idyllwynd Communications. They put on a presentation on Business Etiquette which largely focused on a set of "bad ideas" authors get about conferences. Some of those include the idea that if a manuscript is requested, you shouldn't send it because they didn't really mean it. And dealt with the difficulties of waiting to find out the results. They also discussed how to dress and the differences between Seattle and New York, how to make conversations, and how to make contacts. Smiling, standing up straight, dressing comfortably in business casual were good ideas.

Mythology

In "The Writer's Journey" Christopher Vogler explains the importance of myths in our understanding of what makes a good story, see my list of useful writing books. Before I travel to any new country, I want to know the history and the mythology for that country. On one hand, the mythology tells the stories told by the common people and handed down through time. See my list of favorite mythology books. History, on the other hand, is told more from the point of view of the society and related events. In addition, I also want to know about the natural world environment that I will encounter, especially where to find birds and mammals and what some of the native plants look like. Travel guides explain some of the modern amenities like roads, hotels, restaurants and things to do. I like to write stories set in places I've visited because having done the research, I bring a lot of knowledge about the place tied with experiential memories. I believe this adds additional layers to my work.

Mythology

In "The Writer's Journey" Christopher Vogler explains the importance of myths in our understanding of what makes a good story, see my list of useful writing books. Before I travel to any new country, I want to know the history and the mythology for that country. On one hand, the mythology tells the stories told by the common people and handed down through time. See my list of favorite mythology books. History, on the other hand, is told more from the point of view of the society and related events. In addition, I also want to know about the natural world environment that I will encounter, especially where to find birds and mammals and what some of the native plants look like. Travel guides explain some of the modern amenities like roads, hotels, restaurants and things to do. I like to write stories set in places I've visited because having done the research, I bring a lot of knowledge about the place tied with experiential memories. I believe this adds additional layers to my work.

Doing research? Consider a free membership at Carmun

Doing research? Consider a free membership at Carmun

Review of: Carmun, Reference

By: Sheri F. on Judy's Book

Rating: 4 stars

Read review on Judy's Book.

The Carmun website is a useful site for those doing research, especially college students. Membership is free and you're allowed to select a university and its library for accessing ratings on resources. The best part of it is you can build your bibliography, both from typed in information about books you may have used and from clicking on links on a website. Your account allows you to establish as many projects as you want. You can also enter ratings descriptions of the books you use.

Where to build an archive?

This question came to mind, once I realized that I couldn't keep writing reviews and not have a place to store them. I decided my web page wasn't the correct place to put them, for one, it didn't have the built in capabilities that my blog had--those of a subject and yearly sort mechanism. Therefore, my blog will now become my store of old reviews that have no other place, or at least, will hold links to secondary sources for the same information.

Reviews can be sold to someone who will pay for them, or to a site that will store them online. Once they leave that site's archive, the potential is there to put them into one of the book store's reviews with a link in your blog or to rehost them on the blog itself.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet.

Review of: Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms, Books

By: Sheri F. on Judy's Book

Rating: 4 stars

Read review on Judy's Book.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet. It contains information about word roots, where they originated and in what language and the common meaning of that root. It does the same for combining forms -- these are the typical endings to words, an example is -merous for instance meaning many. It's organized alphabetically. It can help you identify what a foriegn work might mean without a dictionary for that language. It can also help with old latin forms and unusual names. By knowing the roots, a writer can have fun making sure their writing isn't too esoteric and too down to earth.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet.

Review of: Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms, Books

By: Sheri F. on Judy's Book

Rating: 4 stars

Read review on Judy's Book.

Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms is a useful reference for the writer and poet. It contains information about word roots, where they originated and in what language and the common meaning of that root. It does the same for combining forms -- these are the typical endings to words, an example is -merous for instance meaning many. It's organized alphabetically. It can help you identify what a foriegn work might mean without a dictionary for that language. It can also help with old latin forms and unusual names. By knowing the roots, a writer can have fun making sure their writing isn't too esoteric and too down to earth.