Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 128
October 14, 2014
Writing Obstacles
One of the biggest obstacles I deal with in my writing--besides my rampant perfectionism--is my characters. As much as I love them, they're a trial in every single story.
Damon from Ravyn's Flight? He didn't mention he had a secret that had been weighing him down for years. Nada. That bombshell got dropped on me when I was about midway through the book. Since I had no clue this was coming, hell, I had no clue he even had a secret, I had to go back and add some foreshadowing so the readers wouldn't be blindsided like I was.
Wyatt from Eternal Nights kissed Kendall and then a scene or two later stopped cooperating. I couldn't figure out why I was so stuck. For six weeks all I did was write and delete, write and delete. Then he finally mentioned that he wouldn't risk all the work he'd done by kissing her like that. Eventually, we reached a compromise, but not before he made me sweat.
Kellan from In the Darkest Night didn't hide that he had something in his past that ate at him. With his PTSD, it was pretty hard to hide besides I knew from his brother's book that Kel had disappeared for a while. So although he gave me no idea what had happened to him while he was held captive until shortly before he told Farran the truth, at least I knew enough to write his book.
This list kind of makes it look like it's only my heroes who give me grief. That's not true at all. My heroines will lie to me. They'll insist that they don't have any issues--it's the hero's book, I'm fine. And then this funny thing happens as I write. I start to sense the truth.
My current heroine let me believe that she had no issues. Oh, sure, she had some baggage with her parents, but nothing that would complicate her relationship to the hero. I spent forever trying to figure out what was going on with him. The only thing I got from him was that he didn't want kids and he was afraid that would end their relationship. I quizzed him up and down and sideways before I gave up in despair. What was going on with him?
Slowly, as I mulled and rewrote and mulled some more it began to become obvious that my heroine was the one with the issue. She'd lied to me! Outright, baldfaced lied. And she wasn't the first and I doubt she'll be the last.
You think they'd help me since I'm the one bringing them together, but no. Instead, they are probably my biggest problem.
Damon from Ravyn's Flight? He didn't mention he had a secret that had been weighing him down for years. Nada. That bombshell got dropped on me when I was about midway through the book. Since I had no clue this was coming, hell, I had no clue he even had a secret, I had to go back and add some foreshadowing so the readers wouldn't be blindsided like I was.
Wyatt from Eternal Nights kissed Kendall and then a scene or two later stopped cooperating. I couldn't figure out why I was so stuck. For six weeks all I did was write and delete, write and delete. Then he finally mentioned that he wouldn't risk all the work he'd done by kissing her like that. Eventually, we reached a compromise, but not before he made me sweat.
Kellan from In the Darkest Night didn't hide that he had something in his past that ate at him. With his PTSD, it was pretty hard to hide besides I knew from his brother's book that Kel had disappeared for a while. So although he gave me no idea what had happened to him while he was held captive until shortly before he told Farran the truth, at least I knew enough to write his book.
This list kind of makes it look like it's only my heroes who give me grief. That's not true at all. My heroines will lie to me. They'll insist that they don't have any issues--it's the hero's book, I'm fine. And then this funny thing happens as I write. I start to sense the truth.
My current heroine let me believe that she had no issues. Oh, sure, she had some baggage with her parents, but nothing that would complicate her relationship to the hero. I spent forever trying to figure out what was going on with him. The only thing I got from him was that he didn't want kids and he was afraid that would end their relationship. I quizzed him up and down and sideways before I gave up in despair. What was going on with him?
Slowly, as I mulled and rewrote and mulled some more it began to become obvious that my heroine was the one with the issue. She'd lied to me! Outright, baldfaced lied. And she wasn't the first and I doubt she'll be the last.
You think they'd help me since I'm the one bringing them together, but no. Instead, they are probably my biggest problem.
October 12, 2014
10 Common Nightmares Explained
I haven't had most of these dreams except for falling. I used to have that one when I was high school or college aged.
October 9, 2014
A Suitable Match
I thought I'd write a few posts about some of my favorite books and I'll start with one of the most unlikely titles on the list. :-)
I'm not a fan of historical fiction and that includes romances, although I did read them when there was nothing contemporary or paranormal that I wanted to read. That's what makes the fact that I loved this book so amazing.
Warning: Possible spoilers!
A Suitable Match by Joy Freemen (My books says Freemen, but there's a cover of the book online with Freeman on it, so it could be either spelling. I'm linking to Amazon as the author has no website that I could find.)
This is a regency romance. I know. No one is more shocked than I am that I adore this book. I actually checked it out of the library and then spent I don't know how long trying to track down a copy to buy because I had to have it to read again and again.
The hero is, of course, the handsome noble rake. The heroine is the surprise. she might be an innocent young miss, but she's a smart ass! A genteel smart ass, but still...
So anyone the heroine's grandmother is trying a little matchmaking and tells the hero a lie (sort of) to get him to attend a house party where he can meet the heroine. He's arrogant and definitely in need of being taken down a peg or two by the heroine's sarcasm.
The heroine believes that he's there to talk her out of watching over the estate for her cousin who will inherit it. She also discovers that the hero thinks that she's lax with propriety and so she tries to talk the way he expects. Not always successfully, but she's having a game of her own.
Of course, since it's a romance, they end up falling in love.
I loved the heroine's sarcasm. Now granted I don't read many historical romances, but in my recollection even the outside the box heroines (AKA not simpering young misses) aren't sarcastic. The heroine does it delightfully well, and when they first meet, the hero isn't sure at first that she is jabbing him. Loved this!
The characters drove the book for me and all their different goals and beliefs muddied the waters and kept me turning pages.
IMO, there was one negative. I don't count it as a full-blown negative because the author did set it up and it did fit the character, but I still would prefer other means to create tension. At one point in the book, there is the dreaded Misunderstanding.
It does fit the hero's character. He's got reason to be distrustful and to assume the worst, but I'd still prefer he ask the heroine instead of steamrolling to conclusions in hurt and anger. He is a character of strong emotion, so that fit too, it's just Misunderstanding. It doesn't last forever, but it was the only spot of tarnish on a shiny, wonderful book.
I rate books I read on a scale of 10/10. This is one of the few books that earned this rating. With the caveat that I probably haven't read this book in ten years, I give it a Highly Recommended.
I'm not a fan of historical fiction and that includes romances, although I did read them when there was nothing contemporary or paranormal that I wanted to read. That's what makes the fact that I loved this book so amazing.
Warning: Possible spoilers!
A Suitable Match by Joy Freemen (My books says Freemen, but there's a cover of the book online with Freeman on it, so it could be either spelling. I'm linking to Amazon as the author has no website that I could find.)
This is a regency romance. I know. No one is more shocked than I am that I adore this book. I actually checked it out of the library and then spent I don't know how long trying to track down a copy to buy because I had to have it to read again and again.
The hero is, of course, the handsome noble rake. The heroine is the surprise. she might be an innocent young miss, but she's a smart ass! A genteel smart ass, but still...
So anyone the heroine's grandmother is trying a little matchmaking and tells the hero a lie (sort of) to get him to attend a house party where he can meet the heroine. He's arrogant and definitely in need of being taken down a peg or two by the heroine's sarcasm.
The heroine believes that he's there to talk her out of watching over the estate for her cousin who will inherit it. She also discovers that the hero thinks that she's lax with propriety and so she tries to talk the way he expects. Not always successfully, but she's having a game of her own.
Of course, since it's a romance, they end up falling in love.
I loved the heroine's sarcasm. Now granted I don't read many historical romances, but in my recollection even the outside the box heroines (AKA not simpering young misses) aren't sarcastic. The heroine does it delightfully well, and when they first meet, the hero isn't sure at first that she is jabbing him. Loved this!
The characters drove the book for me and all their different goals and beliefs muddied the waters and kept me turning pages.
IMO, there was one negative. I don't count it as a full-blown negative because the author did set it up and it did fit the character, but I still would prefer other means to create tension. At one point in the book, there is the dreaded Misunderstanding.
It does fit the hero's character. He's got reason to be distrustful and to assume the worst, but I'd still prefer he ask the heroine instead of steamrolling to conclusions in hurt and anger. He is a character of strong emotion, so that fit too, it's just Misunderstanding. It doesn't last forever, but it was the only spot of tarnish on a shiny, wonderful book.
I rate books I read on a scale of 10/10. This is one of the few books that earned this rating. With the caveat that I probably haven't read this book in ten years, I give it a Highly Recommended.
October 7, 2014
Blogging Ideas
Coming up with blog topics is hard, but someone posted a link on Twitter to blog topics for authors. Cool, I thought, and went over to check it out. I was so disappointed when I discovered that most of the ideas either are ones I've done before or won't work for me.
Character names. I do talk about this, probably too much, but it is something that I find endlessly fascinating. I might want to talk about it again, but I'll probably wait since I know I did it recently.
Character illness and I why I chose to give him/her that particular disease. At first I thought hey, I could talk about Kel and his PTSD, but then the second part of the suggestion stopped me. Why I'd chosen to give him PTSD. Um, I didn't chose. Kel came to me with PTSD and it wasn't as if I could ignore it, not when it colored his entire life. Choose? Yeah, right.
Deleted scenes. Hmm. Well, maybe I could talk about those, but I don't have that many straight deleted scenes. Most of the time, the scene does make the book, just rewritten to actually make it interesting. Besides, I put those scenes out of my head and move on. I'd have to reread my cast off folders for each book.
Talk about what time of day you write and why. How interesting is I write in the evenings because I'm not at my day job? Seriously.
Talk about your poems or other writing. I don't write poems. I hardly have time to write stories let alone extra, non-focused writing.
Guess I'm going to have to keep coming up with my own topics.
Character names. I do talk about this, probably too much, but it is something that I find endlessly fascinating. I might want to talk about it again, but I'll probably wait since I know I did it recently.
Character illness and I why I chose to give him/her that particular disease. At first I thought hey, I could talk about Kel and his PTSD, but then the second part of the suggestion stopped me. Why I'd chosen to give him PTSD. Um, I didn't chose. Kel came to me with PTSD and it wasn't as if I could ignore it, not when it colored his entire life. Choose? Yeah, right.
Deleted scenes. Hmm. Well, maybe I could talk about those, but I don't have that many straight deleted scenes. Most of the time, the scene does make the book, just rewritten to actually make it interesting. Besides, I put those scenes out of my head and move on. I'd have to reread my cast off folders for each book.
Talk about what time of day you write and why. How interesting is I write in the evenings because I'm not at my day job? Seriously.
Talk about your poems or other writing. I don't write poems. I hardly have time to write stories let alone extra, non-focused writing.
Guess I'm going to have to keep coming up with my own topics.
October 5, 2014
October 2, 2014
Adventures In Making Dough
There is a family recipe that is my absolute favorite thing in the world, and because it requires Italian plums (only available for a short time in September), I couldn't wait for my mom to make it for me. Unfortunately, it has intensive preparation time.
Anyway, the recipe requires I make pierogi dough. I've never done this before, although I have watched my mom. When I was a kid.
I guess I should back up and say that my original plan was to make the dough in my bread machine, but I discovered it doesn't have a dough setting. I was shocked enough to research, and sure enough, it doesn't have this feature. I'm calling that a fail. Although, since I've had it for years and this the first time I'm noticing the missing choice, I might not need it.
This meant I had to make it by hand. Me! The non-cook.
It started out a little messy with the flour, but since I planned to roll on the island anyway, I decided not to worry about that. The real problem started when I moved on to the liquid portion of the recipe.
Two eggs. Okay, great. I had new eggs. I put them on the island and then thought, well, maybe I'll do the liquid on the other counter. I pick up the eggs to move them. I noticed my grip on them wasn't good, but I continued on anyway because I didn't have to go that far.
I almost made it.
I was right at the edge of the counter when the carton fell from my grip and went splat on the floor.
The good news is that 5 of them didn't break. The bad news is that the other seven did and I had egg all over my floor which required massive cleanup. With two of my rescued eggs, I continued on.
I ended up with dough that was desert dry. I added more water, but the dough still doesn't look like what Mom made. :-/
And I was right to be worried. Two hours later, after I let it rest, it still felt dried out. Normally, the dough has to be exposed to air for a while before it feels that way. It was difficult to work with and it didn't taste like Mom's either. :-( I failed at dough.
Anyway, the recipe requires I make pierogi dough. I've never done this before, although I have watched my mom. When I was a kid.
I guess I should back up and say that my original plan was to make the dough in my bread machine, but I discovered it doesn't have a dough setting. I was shocked enough to research, and sure enough, it doesn't have this feature. I'm calling that a fail. Although, since I've had it for years and this the first time I'm noticing the missing choice, I might not need it.
This meant I had to make it by hand. Me! The non-cook.
It started out a little messy with the flour, but since I planned to roll on the island anyway, I decided not to worry about that. The real problem started when I moved on to the liquid portion of the recipe.
Two eggs. Okay, great. I had new eggs. I put them on the island and then thought, well, maybe I'll do the liquid on the other counter. I pick up the eggs to move them. I noticed my grip on them wasn't good, but I continued on anyway because I didn't have to go that far.
I almost made it.
I was right at the edge of the counter when the carton fell from my grip and went splat on the floor.
The good news is that 5 of them didn't break. The bad news is that the other seven did and I had egg all over my floor which required massive cleanup. With two of my rescued eggs, I continued on.
I ended up with dough that was desert dry. I added more water, but the dough still doesn't look like what Mom made. :-/
And I was right to be worried. Two hours later, after I let it rest, it still felt dried out. Normally, the dough has to be exposed to air for a while before it feels that way. It was difficult to work with and it didn't taste like Mom's either. :-( I failed at dough.
September 30, 2014
Auto Flush
I've blogged before about these crazy auto flush toilets we have at work. Why the reprise? Because it got even crazier.
They're renovating our restrooms at work. They need it, believe me. The building I work in went up in the 1960s, and aside from some minor updating (like the self-flushing toilets), it doesn't look as if any work has been done on them.
The restroom closest to my desk is currently closed for the renovations, so I have to use another. This one is already all prettified. It also has brand new auto flush toilets and these things are wild. As a water-saving measure, they are extremely worthless. Let me explain. :-)
Walk into the stall, try to put toilet seat cover on seat. Toilet flushes.
Turn around so I can sit. Toilet flushes.
Stand up again. Toilet flushes. (This is the only time it should flush.)
Reach for door lock. Toilet flushes.
Walk out of stall, door swings. Toilet flushes.
Yes, five flushes when there should have only been one. I'm calling this a massive water-saving Fail.
Then there are the motion sensor sink faucets... But I won't go into that. ;-)
They're renovating our restrooms at work. They need it, believe me. The building I work in went up in the 1960s, and aside from some minor updating (like the self-flushing toilets), it doesn't look as if any work has been done on them.
The restroom closest to my desk is currently closed for the renovations, so I have to use another. This one is already all prettified. It also has brand new auto flush toilets and these things are wild. As a water-saving measure, they are extremely worthless. Let me explain. :-)
Walk into the stall, try to put toilet seat cover on seat. Toilet flushes.
Turn around so I can sit. Toilet flushes.
Stand up again. Toilet flushes. (This is the only time it should flush.)
Reach for door lock. Toilet flushes.
Walk out of stall, door swings. Toilet flushes.
Yes, five flushes when there should have only been one. I'm calling this a massive water-saving Fail.
Then there are the motion sensor sink faucets... But I won't go into that. ;-)
September 28, 2014
What Causes Brain Freeze?
When I was a kid, we used to call it the Mr. Misty headache after the Dairy Queen treat.
September 25, 2014
In Search Of...
My new house finally had one of the recessed lights go out. Since the bulb lasted more than a year, I'm happy with that. I expected it to go out before this. But it left me with a problem. What bulb do I buy to replace it?
Clearly, some parameters were known. Flood light that has the ability to be dimmed. Beyond that, though, was a mystery.
Choosing bulbs in the old world was easy. I need this wattage and done. But now it's like an ordeal. Pick the wrong LED or CFL bulb and I'd be stuck with that harsh light that I hate for years to come. Clearly, some research was needed and (oh, boy) is there ever a lot online to wade through. Gah!
First off, I discovered that wattage is not brightness in bulbs, it's energy usage. The new bulbs are measured in kelvins. To replicate the color of an incandescent bulb, I want 2700 to 3000 kelvins.
Got it. That's good. The higher numbers (like 5000) are where you get that harsh, cold light that I hate.
My next decision was fairly easy as well. I went for the LED light over CFL. I had several reasons. One is that the bulb will last about 22 years in LED versus about 7 years for CFL. Since these bulbs are high up in the ceiling and require a ladder, the longer I can go without replacing the bulb the better. Plus, I have my lights on longer than the 3 hours per day on which they base the life limit, so again, lasting longer is better.
Also, the LED is supposed to be instant on whereas the CFL bulbs I have brighten as they stay on. I have the latest and greatest CFL bulbs in my bathroom, and while they do start out brighter than the old ones did, I still find they're not at full intensity until they've been on a while.
Now I had to figure out brightness. What is a 60 watt light equivalent in LED? I'm still shaky on this, but this is measured in lumens now. So apparently 1600 lumens will be equivalent to 100 watts. I ended up getting whatever lumens equals 65 watts. 750 lumens maybe? I can't remember to be honest, but by then, this had been quite an odyssey.
To make the purchase decision for this one light bulb took 45 minutes. Seriously. This would be okay if I only had to do it once, but I know I won't remember all this when the next bulb goes out and I'll have to go through this all again.
You would think that to make things easier for people, the light bulb manufacturers would just label the new LED and CFL lights with the old wattage designation and maybe a graphic saying this bulb is the warm light of incandescent and this light is the harsher whiter light. Then it would take like 2 minutes. I want 65 watts with a warm tone. Done. But no, let's make it as difficult as possible.
For heaven's sake light bulb makers, at least give a chart I can glance at and make a decision without wasting a lot of time.
Clearly, some parameters were known. Flood light that has the ability to be dimmed. Beyond that, though, was a mystery.
Choosing bulbs in the old world was easy. I need this wattage and done. But now it's like an ordeal. Pick the wrong LED or CFL bulb and I'd be stuck with that harsh light that I hate for years to come. Clearly, some research was needed and (oh, boy) is there ever a lot online to wade through. Gah!
First off, I discovered that wattage is not brightness in bulbs, it's energy usage. The new bulbs are measured in kelvins. To replicate the color of an incandescent bulb, I want 2700 to 3000 kelvins.
Got it. That's good. The higher numbers (like 5000) are where you get that harsh, cold light that I hate.
My next decision was fairly easy as well. I went for the LED light over CFL. I had several reasons. One is that the bulb will last about 22 years in LED versus about 7 years for CFL. Since these bulbs are high up in the ceiling and require a ladder, the longer I can go without replacing the bulb the better. Plus, I have my lights on longer than the 3 hours per day on which they base the life limit, so again, lasting longer is better.
Also, the LED is supposed to be instant on whereas the CFL bulbs I have brighten as they stay on. I have the latest and greatest CFL bulbs in my bathroom, and while they do start out brighter than the old ones did, I still find they're not at full intensity until they've been on a while.
Now I had to figure out brightness. What is a 60 watt light equivalent in LED? I'm still shaky on this, but this is measured in lumens now. So apparently 1600 lumens will be equivalent to 100 watts. I ended up getting whatever lumens equals 65 watts. 750 lumens maybe? I can't remember to be honest, but by then, this had been quite an odyssey.
To make the purchase decision for this one light bulb took 45 minutes. Seriously. This would be okay if I only had to do it once, but I know I won't remember all this when the next bulb goes out and I'll have to go through this all again.
You would think that to make things easier for people, the light bulb manufacturers would just label the new LED and CFL lights with the old wattage designation and maybe a graphic saying this bulb is the warm light of incandescent and this light is the harsher whiter light. Then it would take like 2 minutes. I want 65 watts with a warm tone. Done. But no, let's make it as difficult as possible.
For heaven's sake light bulb makers, at least give a chart I can glance at and make a decision without wasting a lot of time.
September 23, 2014
Install Fail
When I moved into my house last year, my parents were there to help me get things put away and things hooked up. Like cable television and WIFI. So my dad was there when Comcast came to set everything up.
It was months and months later that I tried to play a DVD in my family room and it wouldn't work. I figured it was the DVD, that maybe I'd accidentally bought Blue Ray or something and the DVD had come with a free stream, so I just streamed the movie rather than watching the disk. Frustrating, but not a big deal.
The next time I tried to watch a DVD in the family room was around Christmas while my parents were visiting. That one wouldn't play either and this time I couldn't blame the disk because it was one I'd watched before. After ditzing around with it for a while, I asked my dad, "Did the cable guy hook up the DVD player when he installed everything?" My dad assured me that he had.
Okay, I thought, it must be the digital cable box not playing nice with my older DVD player. I didn't really think about it again. Until this past weekend.
I wanted to watch a DVD and so I brought it into my bedroom. There is no digital cable box there and that TV and DVD player have worked together many times in the past. Imagine my surprise when this disk wouldn't play either. Everything seemed to be working, but nothing brought it up on the screen.
I wasted a lot of time on this and finally questioned how the DVD player was hooked up. I couldn't really check that in the family room with that player because the big sideboard entertainment center is difficult to move, but I could see behind the TV in my bedroom. I bet you can guess what I discovered. The Comcast guy didn't hook up my DVD player. It's not that he did it wrong, it's that he didn't do it at all!
When I think of how we busted our butts to get the DVD players unpacked and in place before he came to do the install, it really chaps my hide. Why wouldn't he do it? Now I have to move the televisions away from the wall so that I can do the hookups myself.
Fail.
It was months and months later that I tried to play a DVD in my family room and it wouldn't work. I figured it was the DVD, that maybe I'd accidentally bought Blue Ray or something and the DVD had come with a free stream, so I just streamed the movie rather than watching the disk. Frustrating, but not a big deal.
The next time I tried to watch a DVD in the family room was around Christmas while my parents were visiting. That one wouldn't play either and this time I couldn't blame the disk because it was one I'd watched before. After ditzing around with it for a while, I asked my dad, "Did the cable guy hook up the DVD player when he installed everything?" My dad assured me that he had.
Okay, I thought, it must be the digital cable box not playing nice with my older DVD player. I didn't really think about it again. Until this past weekend.
I wanted to watch a DVD and so I brought it into my bedroom. There is no digital cable box there and that TV and DVD player have worked together many times in the past. Imagine my surprise when this disk wouldn't play either. Everything seemed to be working, but nothing brought it up on the screen.
I wasted a lot of time on this and finally questioned how the DVD player was hooked up. I couldn't really check that in the family room with that player because the big sideboard entertainment center is difficult to move, but I could see behind the TV in my bedroom. I bet you can guess what I discovered. The Comcast guy didn't hook up my DVD player. It's not that he did it wrong, it's that he didn't do it at all!
When I think of how we busted our butts to get the DVD players unpacked and in place before he came to do the install, it really chaps my hide. Why wouldn't he do it? Now I have to move the televisions away from the wall so that I can do the hookups myself.
Fail.
