Plot Adhesive

My son can make just about anything with a piece of plain white paper and some tape. Airplanes, shields, swords complete will all of the accoutrements, water towers, and movable construction cranes are a few of the engineering marvels that I've seen come to life with a little paper and tape. Give him Lego's and the list becomes awe- inspiring. I haven't introduced my 8 year old to Duct Tape yet. (Have mercy my entire house would be covered in the stuff.)



What does this have to do with anything?

It's about creative adhesive. I have found that a little thematic duct tape can go a long way in my writing. I don't make walking robots out of paper and tape, instead I use blank paper to cough out my stories and sometimes I need a little plot adhesive.

I find myself saying, "What does this part/scene/twist mean?" And then finally an idea or theme emerges (my duct tape) that makes sense in every aspect of the plot and for all my characters. The truth of my hero is the lie of my villain. The saving grace for all the supportive characters either strengthen the truth or feed into the lie. One nice little bundle of story tied up with thematic duct tape.

What sticks your stories together?

Snow and A Hectic Life

The first flakes of snow fell today.

They were delicate at first and falling from a blue sky. My children and I wondered at where they were coming from.

As night crept in the flakes became fiercer, as though now under the mask of darkness they could show their true power.

The night turned black with flashes of blizzard flying snow.

The grass fell victim to some of the crystals, but the warm earth quickly dispatched the weak flakes when they touched down.

The sadness of the first snow is this: I was too busy rushing from here to there to anywhere and nowhere, that I missed savoring the first snow of winter.

What has become of me that I missed the first snow?

Hopefully when the first "real" snow comes, I will be able to stop whatever I am doing and relish in the new snow: Walk through it in warm snow boots; look into the sky and watch the falling flakes like falling stars; shovel the walk and hear the crunch of ice; then curl up in a window with a good book and a warm blanket and watch the snow from the warmth of home.

I'm Rolling With It

It's cold. (I'm writing this on Oct. 21st in Reno, NV). The sky is gray and I really want some hot chocolate. On the good side--I painted my house last winter so even though outside looks dismal, inside is like being inside a buttercup. Also, I'm in a really good mood for writing. So I'm rolling with it. Wish me luck!

Post Script:

It's Oct. 26th, still cold but not cloudy, I'm home from Girls' Weekend and I Can't. Wait. To. Write!!!!! I also can't wait for Thanksgiving, but since writing is something I can do right now, I think I'll start with that. :)

Commercial Hour

I have kids. Consequently, at this time of year, I can't turn on the TV without being bombarded by the phrase, "I want that!" Toy manufacturers, knowing that Christmas is on the way, flood the airwaves with the latest and greatest in the world of play time.

Let the commercialization begin!

My two year old has caught on to the "I want that" spirit, now noticing and watching commercials when previously he could have cared less.

Even Halloween has become commercial with costumes, corn mazes, haunted houses, decorations, and the glorious candy. It's all so expensive! Have you seen how much it costs to go to a haunted house these days?

WARNING: Old geezer talk ahead.

What happened to the good ol' days when you'd throw together a costume from stuff you found around the house and make your own spook alley, complete with "spaghetti" brains and "grape" eyeballs? Those days, I'm afraid, might be gone.

Doing Lunch with Jessica Day George

Some of the Inkers (actually, all with the exception of Kirk, who was headed out of town) got together yesterday for lunch with the always delightful, witty, and clever Jessica Day George, authoress of the wonderful Dragon Slippers trilogy, Princess of the Midnight Ball, and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.

Joining us for the fun were FOD's (Friends of Donna's) Lizz and Tawyna and honorary Inker Graham Chops.

JDG very generously answered all of our questions about what it is like to be a successful author and the whole writing and editing process, whilst we enjoyed BBQ.

She said the best advice she could give is to attend writing conferences, good conferences where you can get some face time with editors and pitch your project to them. She tried for nine years to get published by mailing things out and endured over 180 rejections (which she used to keep in a nice scrapbook, until it fell apart). Then, within about three months of pitching to editors at BYU's Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop, she had signed a deal.

We also talked about balancing writing time and family time and came to the conclusion there is no magic formula for this, you just have to write when you can. Another subject was the value of being part of a critique group that is supportive, but also able to give constructive feedback.

We'd like to thank Jessica for spending time with us. It is always inspiring to get advice from known authors.

Jessica is currently editing the sequel to Princess of the Midnight Ball, titled Princess of Glass, due out in May of 2010. She also enjoys knitting, a skill passed down from her grandfather.

For more information on Jessica Day George, you may visit http://www.jessicadaygeorge.blogspot.com/.

Life of a Deer

So one of my highlights of the week was not hitting a deer that lunged out in front of me as I was tearing down the road at 70 mph. Jimbo the Deer had probably started his morning with a hot cup of coffee or five, had decided he'd get an early start foraging for green sustenance on the north side of the highway, and was just making his frenetic journey across the sagebrush when he suddenly sees some maniacal creature with blazing yellow eyes tearing at him at no less than 70 miles per hour. His life probably flashed before his eyes: the time he took the young bucks and does to Tree World, the time he and Penelope the Deer had their wild getaway to Tooele, the time he got his first job as alpha buck of the Saratoga Springs South Herd . . . What a life he's led!

Almost snuffed out by a crazy human who likes to drive too dang fast for his own good.

I Love Halloween

It's Halloween night in this wood.

Anything can happen and it could,

The moon looks on with a smile of cheese.

Werewolves howl and growl and tease.

Witches' brew boils and bubbles.

Scarecrows screech with their troubles.

Dracula smiles his toothy grin.

The skeleton looks for his skin.

The scary cats will jump and play,

And hairy bats will swing and sway.

In this wood its time to scare,

Halloween comes again this year.