Sylvia May's Blog, page 9

This Writer’s Space

Where do you write? That is a question that I, and many of my author friends, get asked quite often. I wonder why people ask. Do they believe there is some magic space where we spin our tales? Most authors I know write in very ordinary places: at their desks, on the couch, in a coffee shop…

My main answer to the question is that I write on my computer. I have forgone the pen and notebook in favour of typing away on keys. I find I can type so much faster than writing with a pen. There are times when my thoughts bubble over in my brain and I am much more efficient in recording them when I use the computer.

But I know that’s not what the people want to know. I suspect they’re asking about whether I prefer to write in a confined or open space, quiet or noisy, alone or with people, on a desk, table or lap, in a tidy or messy environment.

The beauty of having a laptop is that I can write anywhere. And I have tried many different places. Sometimes I sit on the recliner chair with my computer on my lap, having my back and shoulders comfortably supported as I work. And sometimes I like to work in a coffee shop, surrounded by ambient noise and people that provide a backdrop to my ideas.

However, I have discovered that I am most productive, most creative, and most successful when I sit at my desk in a quiet room. It has taken a bit of tweaking to arrange  my workspace such that I can sit for several hours in comfort and with little distraction. For a while I suffered from shoulder and neck pain, and realized it was because my posture and screen height were all wrong. Ergonomics are important! For my birthday, I received a wonderful new desk chair, adjusted to the right height and with lumbar support, and I have set my computer so that I can read the screen through the bifocals in my glasses without bending my neck at odd angles. Much better.

Recently I changed the location of my desk. It used to be beside the doors leading to our patio, through which the view of the azure ocean beckons. Talk about distraction! I would spend more time watching the boats on the water than producing words on the screen. Now my desk is in a corner where I have to physically get up and move to look outside. While the view isn’t as pretty (although I’ve hung pretty things on the wall), it is much more conducive to achieving my word count.

One more thing – my desk is always tidy before I can get to work. If I’m surrounded by clutter, I feel the need to eliminate it, and thus would not be writing. Oh, and I almost always have a mug of tea beside the computer.

You can see my writing space on the photo above. What do you think? Does it look like a writer’s desk?

Raising kids and writing books

Last week, my son stayed with us for a week. Our kids love visiting us, because it means they take a trip to Bermuda. They all delight in swimming in the turquoise waters and soaking up the sun. Oh, and of course, they enjoy spending time with Mom and Dad. At least, that’s what they tell us.

We had a wonderful week with our son. I baked his favourite cookies, we played cards and talked. Despite the blustery weather that Hurricane Sandy tossed our way, we went snorkelling and kayaking and walking. At the end of his visit, I was sad to say good-bye, as I always am when I take leave of my adult kids. That’s part of parenting, isn’t it? Letting go? So much of our lives were focused on raising them, and then they become independent adults and we are no longer a daily part of one another’s lives. It’s as it should be. Root’s and wings; that’s what we parents need to bestow upon our children.

I was pondering this shifting of the parent-child relationship as I washed the sheets and towels and tidied the guest room, in essence eradicating my son’s presence and readying the room for the next visitor. We do our best with our kids before sending them off into the world, but at some point they go out on their own to forge the rest of their lives. And we simply watch. If we’re lucky, they might ask our advice, but for the most part we’ve contributed what we can and the rest is up to them.

It occurs to me that it is not dissimilar to the writing of books. We authors give birth to our stories, mold them, live with them, and at some point we send them off into the world and watch to see what happens. Just like our desires for our children, we hope our books are successful.

However, while I am finished with having children, I have only just begun with birthing books. And my kids, wonderful people that they are, cheer me on.

Getting on Track

Okay, so I haven’t been all that diligent about posting blogs. In fact, the last time I posted was October first which is now over a month ago. Not very writerly of me, is it? I am wondering if my lack of commitment to blogging has to do with the fact that I’ve been very loosey-goosey about the posting schedule. I’ve taken the approach that when I think of something to write about I’ll do it. But sometimes ideas for blog topics come to me when I’m not even near my computer, and by the time I get to it, I’ve forgotten them. And life has a habit of getting in the way of my best intentions. More often than not my desk time is usurped by other activities. When I do sit down to work, I first deal with items that have a due date or timeline, and then I use the rest of my writing time to make progress on my novel. For some reason, blogging seems to fall by the wayside.

In an effort to keep myself on track with my blogging, I’ve decided to set up a posting schedule. Since this is an author’s blog, I feel that most of my topics should focus on the practicalities of writing, the methodology, the business of it, or just aspects of being an author. However, I sometimes have the urge to write about things that happen in my personal life, unconnected to writing. Today, when I sat down to write this blog post, I made a list of topics, and they covered quite a range. No longer can I say I don’t know what to blog about.

This inspired me, and as of this week, I will no longer blog “once in a while.” I have decided to blog twice a week: On Tuesdays about writing and on Thursdays about anything else in my life.

Ha, you might think. Why does she expect to blog twice a week, every week, when she was barely blogging once a month?! My answer to that is, simply because I now have a schedule and a commitment. My family will tell you that I’ve always been driven by a schedule. It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?

So here goes. This is my first Tuesday posting, not specifically about writing, but, in today’s world of Internet and Social Media, it is certainly a task essential to my career as an author. See you on Thursday!

October 1st and a New List

Today is October first, the start of a new month. It’s also Monday, the beginning of a new week. Some people might think, “so what? It’s just another day.” In the whole scheme of things, that’s true. We still have to get out of bed, go to work, and carry out the daily activities that make up our life, no matter what the date is.

But I am all about new beginnings and to me the first day of a week or month, or a year or decade, is symbolic of having a fresh start to do better than I did the previous week or month. So on the calendar today, I was elated to see the double “new beginning.” Straight away I made three lists, one for today, one for the week and one for the month, comprising writing tasks, chores, errands and goals.

Do you work from lists? I always have. They help me to stay on course and give me sense of accomplishment as I cross off each item. I have even been known to add to my list a task that wasn’t on it but that I completed, just so I could cross it off and at the end of the day feel good about my efforts. To make it an even more satisfying undertaking, there are now all kinds of productivity apps available to help you keep track of your chores and objectives, and yes, I have a few of those on my iPad. And yes, I use them.

However, lately I haven’t been so dedicated to completing my tasks, and from one day to the next I list the same things over and over because I haven’t yet crossed them out. I’m not exactly sure why that is. I understand that fulfilling objectives is all about commitment and self-discipline no matter what excuses I come up with (and I can certainly come up with plausible excuses: middle age, the distractions of living in Bermuda, the heat and humidity, time spent with friends and family). But nevertheless, l keep not completing my lists and even though it is only me that is holding me accountable, I berate myself and promise to do better the next time.

So this morning, the start of a new day, a new week and a new month, I have a fresh piece of paper on which I’ve written a new list (with a few old items on it) and I am, at least for the moment, committed to crossing off all those tasks and achieving those goals.

I’m off to a good start. Because number one on my list is to write a blog. On to number two..

Do you always complete your lists?

Sailing out of my comfort zone

In the three years that I’ve lived in Bermuda, I have stretched the edges of my comfort zone by doing things I never imagined, like scuba diving, riding a scooter, kayaking on the ocean. A couple of weeks ago I took on a challenge that was so far out of my box, the old pre-Bermuda me would have crossed her arms, shaken her head, and said, “No way.”

But the ocean has gotten under my skin, and all I want to do is swim in it or dive to the bottom of it or float on it or watch it…so when a newsletter from the Bermuda Aquarium advertised the Skiller Sargasso Sea Adult Voyage I thought to myself, “We should do it.” That is why, on Monday, August 27th, Richard and I boarded the tall ship, Spirit of Bermuda, to embark on a five-day voyage to the open ocean, sailing as far as 100 miles south of the island.  The purpose of the expedition, in addition to learning about sailing and ship handling, was to observe bird and fish populations and analyze Sargassum mats. On board we had the captain, a sailing crew of seven, two scientists and an assistant, and ten “trainee” participants including the two us.

The journey certainly had its challenges, but it was an incredible and inspiring experience. When we returned to Dockyards five days later, I was reluctant to disembark, having gained a renewed appreciation for the power of the sea and the life within it. What follows is a condensed version of the journal I kept for those five days aboard ship.

Day 1: With great excitement, we walked toward the Spirit of Bermuda where she was tied to the dock at Dockyards, her tall masts towering to the sky. Were we really going to be living on this beautiful ship for five days? Questions crowded my head: How big were the berths below? What were those two big white plastic drums bolted to the deck? What would it feel like to  be out on the open water with the wind billowing the sails? Would I get seasick?

All members of the expedition were gathered together in the Dockyard gazebo so we could introduce ourselves and meet the crew. Then we tossed our belongings onto the ship and boarded. Second Officer Mario began briefing us as the engines were started and we made our way to St. George’s harbour. We were given safety instructions, and as we cruised along the North Shore (where Richard and I looked up to find our house), we ran drills–man overboard, a fire drill, and an abandon ship muster. With all these things that could go wrong, I began to feel a tad apprehensive. By the way, those two big white drums bolted to the deck contained life rafts. We were assigned our bunks and our watch crew. Richard and I were on the 12-4 watch, where we’d have to be on deck from noon till four and midnight till four, having the rest of the day/night free to participate in activities or sleep. I was dismayed to find that our bunks were in the galley, right by the kitchen and dining tables, and not in the more comfortable looking berth room. However, we were encouraged when someone told us that the middle of the ship has the least amount of movement, so in actuality it was the better place to have a bunk.

In St. George, while supplies and the cook were brought on board, we trainees were taught how to prepare for sailing. I learned how to put the battens in the sails, the difference between halliard ropes and sheet ropes, and what a winch was for. At 3:00, we gathered with our watch crews to hoist the sails. Three-six-HEAVE! What a magnificent feeling as we sailed away from Bermuda, all five sails billowing in the wind, riding the swells in silence.

One of the trainees became extremely seasick as soon as we hit the swells, and he took up residence at the rails. The rest of us had lunch, familiarized ourselves with the ship, and Richard and I took a nap to prepare for having to get up at midnight for our watch. We were awakened at 11:30, and roused ourselves, being sure to don our harnesses, combination harness and inflatable life jacket with which we could attach ourselves to a guide strap the length of the boat. We were required to wear these whenever we were on deck at night or in inclement weather.

The night was quiet and surprisingly bright with the glow of the moon. Our watch leader, First Officer Dave told us that we were on our way back to St. George because the trainee who was so seasick had put in a request to go home. As part of our watch duties, Dave led us around the ship inspecting the ropes and the sails, and we took turns with the rest of our watch crew at the bow watch. Poor Richard was hit with seasickness, and tried hard to stay alert during our watch. I felt fine, and as tired as I was (I am so not a night person!) it was glorious to watch the moon reflected on the water, and the profusion of stars in the sky. I witnessed numerous shooting stars. When my watch was over, I headed back to bed and did not waken until we had been to St. George and sailed back out again.

Day 2: About 90 miles south of Bermuda, we came upon several Sargassum mats, and under the direction of Dr. Robbie, we took turns scooping it up in nets and then sorting through it to find creatures that inhabit the weed. We found tiny shrimp, and little crabs and minute snails. One of the participants found a small Sargassum fish. Dr. Wingate had us all looking in the sky as well, for migrating birds, and we spotted a couple of longtails so far from land. And then, the excitement of the day, we spotted whales! All of us were entertained for close to a half hour by a pod of seven to nine sperm whales. What an experience that was!

Several people on the ship were seasick and spending much of their time lying on their bunks, including the engineer and the cook! Richard was up and down, and another participant was not only seasick but suffering a severe asthma attack and needed medical attention, so once again we headed back to St. George. Richard, sweetheart that he is, got up for our midnight shift even though he wasn’t feeling a hundred per cent, and let me sleep.

Day 3: When I awoke, we were motoring fast out to sea again, having returned the sick participant to shore. Richard filled me in on the events of the night, which involved the patient being transferred to a pilot ship just outside of St. George. But it was not a smooth transfer, as the pilot boat hit the side of Spirit, causing a delay of several hours more.

The water was VERY swelly today, and conditions were not conducive to gathering Sargassum weed, or trawling for plankton, or even fishing. Dr. Robbie commented that we were “going nowhere fast.” And while were under engine power, the ship swayed side to side, exacerbating people’s seasickness. Once the sails went up, it steadied somewhat. But the day was sunny and glorious regardless, and I loved the feel of riding the swell (unlike most of the unfortunates who were down in their bunks feeling sick). I saw a multitude of flying fish, and witnessed a longtail swoop down and dive in the water, something I had not seen them do while they mated and nested on the island.

When it came time for dinner, our cook, Trevor, pulled out chicken left over from the previous night, and put a pot of rice to cook on the stove, and then said to me, “That’s it, I’m too sick to do more.” So I went into the galley and pulled out onions, peppers, mushrooms and broccoli and chopped them and cooked a stirfy to accompany the chicken and rice. Preparing food in a swaying kitchen was an interesting challenge, but it was fun and I felt at home preparing food. After dinner a few of us played cards. Jose taught us a new game called Palace, and we novices beat him a few times.

That night, while we were in our bunks, we sailed into a storm with rain and gale force winds up to 50 knots. Below deck we all rolled about, trying not to fall out of our beds, tensing muscles to stay put. We didn’t venture on deck for our watch that night, leaving the handling of the ship to the experts!

Day 4: In the morning the winds had subsided to 20-30 knots, but for our safety we headed back to St. George (again!). I found it exhilarating to sail on the high waves, but the weather was not conducive to doing anything other than sail back to Bermuda. When I asked Dr. Robbie what the agenda was for the day, he replied, “Survive.” I believe that his comment was only partially tongue-in-cheek. In the storm, two flying fish had landed on deck, and although it was sad that they died because of a miscalculation on their part, it was interesting to examine their wing structures.

We pulled into St. George around 11:00am. The plan was to stay in harbour for the night and head out again the next morning. Seven people decided they’d had enough and left the ship, Richard included. I was not finished with my experience, however, and decided to stay. So, remaining on deck were the captain and seven crew members, Dr. Robbie and his assistant Claire, myself and one other “trainee,” Eddie. We worked to give the ship a good cleanup, and I moved my things to a better bunk since I had so many to choose from (yay!). While we were in harbour, some of us went to the market to pick up treats. And in the afternoon, the boys on the crew let off steam by swinging off the rigging into the harbour. Claire and I decided to go for a swim as well, as did Robbie and Eddie, and it felt good to be in the water. I had found it tough to be on the water for so many days without be able to go in it! Because we were staying docked for the night, the captain gave us permission to have wine, so between Robbie and me, we put together a cocktail hour with wine, and cheese and crackers, and nuts. Then Trevor, who was feeling much better now the the ship was still, made us a lovely dinner of fried rice with chicken and shrimp and veggies. Amazing how it could be so rough out at sea, and so calm in the harbour.

Day 5: I had a fantastic sleep, probably because of the combination all the fresh air, the swim, the wine, calm waters and a quiet, not-moving ship. We headed out at sunrise, admiring the gorgeous sky luminous with colour. Instead of putting the sails up, we motored out because we wanted to get as far out as possible as quickly as possible. It was a beautiful sunny day, breezy, and only slightly swelly. Grey clouds threatened in the distance, but for the time being we were in the clear. We fished out more Sargassum weed and collected more critters. Robbie sank the plankton net down 300 feet, and we were able to observe the different kinds of plankton he collected. Then one of the crew saw fins in the water, and we all ran to the starboard side to watch three large dolphins swimming past the ship!

The clouds were moving overhead, rain started to fall, and the water became more choppy. Specimens collected, we headed back to Dockyard, first to refuel and then to the dock, where, reluctantly, I disembarked and waved good-bye to he ship.

If you’d like to see photos from the voyage, please visit my Facebook page and check out my  Sargasso Sea Voyage album.

Have you recently had an experience that was out of your comfort zone, and that gave you an immense feeling of satisfaction?

Look Ahead

The other day, I was riding my scooter along Harbour Road, a winding, narrow road across the harbour from Hamilton. On one of its many bends, a poinciana tree with its brilliant orange blooms caught my interest, and in the brief second that I turned my attention to the tree, my bike headed right for it. Fortunately, I was able to correct my direction as quickly as it had changed and I continued on my way without mishap.

But this swerve reminded me of some advice I was given when I was first learning to ride a scooter: Always look ahead to where your are going. You will ride where your eyes are aimed.

I pondered this as I motored along, thinking we could apply this adage to life in general. Keeping our eyes on where we want our life to go will certainly aid us in reaching that destination. If we always get bogged down in the minutiae of our days, we can forget to focus attention on our goals and end up in a rut.

I suppose this could be in conflict with another dictum to which I’ve begun to adhere: Live in the moment. Since I moved to Bermuda a few years ago, where I am surrounded by beauty, where the sun shines almost every day, where life’s pace is just a bit slower, I’ve learned to appreciate almost every minute of every day.

Living in the moment is not something I used to do. The old me was a planner and a goal driven achiever. I would barely have achieved one objective before starting another, usually having many projects on the go at once. I always kept my eye on where I was headed.

These days, as an author under contract and with two novels in progress, I still plan according to objectives that I hope to achieve. But now I have also become more balanced. Not only do I look ahead, I also appreciate and enjoy what each moment offers.

Still, on my scooter, I make sure I always keep my eyes on where I’m headed.

How about you? Are you a planner or a live-in-the-moment kind of person?

The Old Fashioned Letter

For my birthday at the beginning of this month, I received many wonderful birthday greetings via email, Facebook, and as e-cards. A few days afterward, I opened my mailbox to find an envelope containing a card that my dear longtime friend Irene had sent me via regular post. Inside the card, along with aromatic dried rose petals, was a long letter. Unfolding it made me smile. Before emails became so prominent, she and I often mailed each other letters, and receiving this was like receiving a special gift.

Like most people, I have succumbed to sending emails as my major method of communication. I’ve been known to type letter-long emails to friends and family. I feel a certain satisfaction about the immediacy with which they receive my missive, and there’s an expectation that their replies will also be expedient.

Even though I’m not THAT old, I still remember the days before email and low cost long-distance phoning, and I was an avid correspondent to friends and family who lived some distance away. The beauty of that practice is that I have kept many of those letters, and thus have a documented record of who we were at that time in our lives. Now with emails that get deleted when they’ve been read, whole transcripts of interactions are lost.

I love to hold sheets of paper that someone has filled with words about things that matter to them and to me, and it wasn’t until I read Irene’s wonderful letter that I realized how much I missed receiving letters in the mail.

People express similar sentiments about e-books and print books. They claim that with e-books they miss the feel of a volume in their hands, the tactile process of turning pages, the smell of the print on the page.

Personally, as a matter of convenience, I read more books on my iPad than I do print books. From an aesthetic perspective, I love the sight of book-filled shelves with all those strikingly coloured spines, and I still love holding a book with a beautiful cover and flipping through pages to find a passage I want to reread. But what really matters to me is the message that the book, or letter or email for that matter, conveys.

So while the tactile experience of reading a printed book or paper letter gives me pleasure, it is the reading of the words that truly feeds my soul.

I still type long emails. I prefer to write my novels using a computer than with pen and a pad of paper. I will read a book in any format I acquire it. And I will reply to Irene’s letter by writing her an equally long one and sending it off in the mail.

How about you? Do you prefer a screen or paper? Or does it matter?

Fan becomes friend

When I attended the Malice Domestic convention in April, I met an avid cozy mystery reader who had read the first Lucy Arlington book and was eager to meet the author(s). As Lynn and I spoke together, we realized that we enjoyed one another’s company very much. In the course of the conversation, Lynn was very interested to discover that I live in Bermuda because she has always wanted to visit the island.

A few months later, she sent me an email to tell me that she and her family had booked a holiday to Bermuda in July, and would it be possible to meet up again. She added a postscript to the note, that she’d purchased The Unraveling of Abby Settel and was looking forward to reading it on her trip.

We arranged to get together in a park by the harbour in Hamilton, and it was fun to meet her husband and other members of her family. They had a multitude of questions about what it was like to live on this beautiful island, recommendations for a good place to have dinner, what they absolutely shouldn’t miss seeing.

And then Lynn told me that she had finished reading my book, how it had touched her, and how she related to much of Abby’s life even though she herself had never had to go through a relocation. Of course I signed her copy.

All in all, we spent a pleasant hour together in the shade of a tree, talking about books, writing, and life.

I was smiling as I walked back to my scooter, thinking about how the stars had aligned for us to have a chance to see each other again. And how not only was she a fan of Lucy Arlington’s books, but now also of Sylvia May’s. Even better, I had a new friend.

One task begets another

I dedicated this week to housecleaning my internet presence–updating my website with a new design and different colours, changing the format of my newsletter, and, because people were having problems with my blogger subscriptions, I also changed my blog host to WordPress . Do you like the new look?

Initially I didn’t set out to do all of that. In the beginning I simply intended to spend a day de-cluttering my website. But then I started playing with different colours and motifs, and when I began to like the new designs I was coming up with, I decided to revamp the whole thing page by page. Working on the newsletter page finally motivated me to figure out how to use Mailchimp to design and send out email newsletters. And while writing up the newsletter, I wrote a blurb about my blogs and the problems some subscribers were having with my blogsite. Then and there I decided to change my blog host.

So my website cleanup dominoed into a huge learning curve with the Mailchimp site which in turn dominoed into another learning curve with WordPress. My brain felt full!

Personally I enjoy this kind of work, and when I get into it I become a bit obsessive about finishing it all. Most days this week my husband would come home from work and find me pretty much where I was when he left for work–sitting at the computer playing with fonts and colours. You could say that I spent most of my week on the computer. Whew!

But I am happy with the results. I love my new website design, am thrilled with how easy it is for me to now design and send out my newsletters, and I have hopefully eliminated the subscription problems with my blog. I am, however, looking forward to a computer-free weekend!

Ah, the life of a writer…guess I’d better get back to my writing now, huh?

Do you ever have a task that snowballs into several other tasks?

P.S. This week I was a guest blogger on “Blogging Authors” blogsite, where I described one way that I’ve increased my writing productivity.

Sisterly Pride

As I write this, I am still in Canada and visiting with my sister for a few days. She recently moved to a beautiful new townhouse in Cobourg, Ontario, right on the lake. As a pastry chef, she creates delectable cakes and pastries and amazing works of edible art. Until this move, she operated her business, Decadent Cakes, from her home. But now, in her new hometown, she has taken a significant step by moving her business off-site, renting space in the back of a chocolate shop and café.

I was ex...