Florence Witkop's Blog, page 63

I thought I was done parenting when the

I thought I was done parenting when the last child moved out. Wrong!

Even though we said we’d not have any more pets, somehow both a dog and a cat have become members of our household and we find that we are parents once more, even though our children now are of the four-legged variety.

They must be separated occasionally. They must be loved often. They must be coaxed back to smiles when they are sulking. And their potty needs must be taken into consideration before we can think of ourselves and what we want to do.

So once again, I look forward to the day when I can sit down to write without wondering what the kids are doing and whether I’ll be able to get anything done before I have to stop to take care of their needs. But I also know that, like human children, we wouldn’t trade either of them for any other family on earth.

But no, we aren’t looking for any more.

Flu season is here. Not entirely a bad t

Flu season is here. Not entirely a bad thing because flu season is read-a-book season. Meaning that the time people lie around on the couch feeling miserable is a good time to read a book.This applies whether you live in a warm climate or cold because, for some unknown reason, the flu doesn’t differentiate. In fact, most flu bugs get their start in warm climates.

So if you haven’t had the flu yet start looking for a good book so you’ll have one available when the bug does bite. And if you’ve had a flu shot or simply don’t get sick, find a good book anyway and pretend you don’t feel good so you’ll have an excuse to read something worthwhile.

I couldn’t open the back door yesterday

I couldn’t open the back door yesterday because it was frozen shut. It’s on the north side of the house. So I went to the back door, the one on the south side, to find that it opened easily and that the space in front of the door was clear of snow for a few feet even though I haven’t done any shoveling. All because the sun is now high enough in the sky that it gives out a surprising amount of heat.

I remember a day long ago like today. No wind, lots of sun on several feet of snow. We went outside with the intention of going snowmobiling. But we didn’t. Instead, we opened our coats and lay back on the snowmobile seats and went sunbathing.

I thought about that day as I stood in the warm sun. Then I returned to the front door again… the one on the north side of the house… and it still wouldn’t open.

No matter, if I want to be warm and enjoy the sun I’ll simply wander down south a bit, all the way to the back of the house, and enjoy a momentary trip to a warmer climate.

On a recent Sunday, we watched the Super

On a recent Sunday, we watched the Superbowl game. Not very exciting as Superbowl games go. Not quite a blowout but close. The teams didn’t seem to be evenly matched and the score was lop-sided. But somehow, the game was fun to watch anyway because, even though the end was evident pretty soon into the game because the players and the strategy were some of the best in the game.

Some stories are like that. They don’t sound very exciting if you try to describe them. They are definitely not well balanced. Too much dialog or too little. Too much action or too little. Scenes that don’t seem to have anything to do with the story. And so on. But somehow the story itself is worth reading because something about it… the story itself… the characters… the description… or something else entirely… is good enough that the whole thing makes a good read.

I like some stories that aren’t well-balanced if there’s something about it that I do like. And I look forward to next year’s Superbowl even though I’m not a football fan.

I’ve been a teacher, a census taker, as

I’ve been a teacher, a census taker, assembled electronics, worked in IT and several other jobs. Which looks bad when I apply for a job. Am I stable? Am I a job-hopper? And so on. But for a writer, such a background is good. Because the more variety in a writer’s life, the more knowledge they posses that they can use in their writing. This applies not only to the job itself but to the broader environment of that job. I know of many differing environments and use what I know often.

So, in retrospect, I’m glad my job history has taken me around the block a couple of times even though, at the time, it didn’t seem like such a good thing.

I can’t sit for long periods of time wi

I can’t sit for long periods of time without doing something so I’m always looking for something to do while watching TV, which is what we do evenings. Sound familiar?

My latest gig is making my own greeting cards. Since we send over one hundred cards a year, I don’t have the problem of getting rid of whatever I make. I learned the hard way that you can only give so many baskets away and wood-burned plaques decorate too many walls already. But cards are always needed and can be tossed away afterwards, eliminating the problem of over-supply. Moreover, making cards is fun.

So now every evening I’m in a quandary which to do. Write? Make cards? Both fit nicely into my life and both present deadlines by which time they must be finished and in the mail or published on Amazon. So there’s always something to do and those things have built-in reasons for ignoring other work that needs attention.

I think this is the most wonderful problem ever, which of two things I enjoy doing to do, knowing that no matter how much I create the world is large enough to absorb the result.

I like animals and have no problem writi

I like animals and have no problem writing about them when they are characters in my stories. And there are many animals in my books. Plants are another thing entirely.

I can kill plants easily and do on a regular basis. My husband, who grew up working in his uncle’s greenhouse, can grow anything and shudders when I get near green things because he knows me.

But the plants in Earth Legend are major characters. So I’m having a hard time giving them true character status. I’ve tried pretending that they are animals and that helps but I suspect that they have a genuine gripe against my somewhat tepid portrayal of their idiosyncrasies.

I’m working on it. I think I’m getting there. But I wonder if characters in books can sue their creator. Anyone know?

The days are getting longer. They start

The days are getting longer. They start lengthening immediately after the winter solstice but the difference is too small to notice until February, around Groundhog Day. Not only do the days get longer, the sunlight is stronger. No longer the weak, insipid light of winter, it gives not only heat, which is what brings Spring, it gives more light. A lot more. Think floodlights and more.

All that white snow glares like sun on water. Boaters wear sunglasses because of that bright light. And Eskimos also need sunglasses, especially in late winter when the warming sun melts the snow enough to put a gloss on that entire white world.

We don’t like to wear sunglasses in the house so we close the curtains enough to shut out the worst of the outside brilliance. Where trees grow close to the house there’s no problem but to the northeast is an open field and the windows there are plentiful. So starting sometime soon, a few weeks at most, we’ll have to pull the curtains and shut out that beautiful view because it’ll be too much.

I will miss the view. Occasionally I’ll peek behind the curtains for a brief glimpse.

According to Punxsutawney Phil, we are i

According to Punxsutawney Phil, we are in for six more weeks of winter. Actually, here in the North Woods, we always have six more weeks of winter. Or more. So what does Phil’s prediction mean for us? Eight more weeks of winter? Ten? Twelve?

I’ve seen years when spring came during the latter part of June, though, actually, those years didn’t have spring at all. Rather we went from winter to summer over the course of two or three days. Snow melted, ice did the same and all that thawing ice and snow made mist so thick that driving was difficult.

I hope we have spring this year though I realize that in this part of the country, spring usually consists of a lot of mud. I like spring, not because of the flowers and birds that other places have, rather I like it because when it’s time for one season to end, it should go gracefully instead of hanging around like a guest who stays too long after the party is done.

Wordiness, as in my last post,is a probl

Wordiness, as in my last post,is a problem for writers but it isn’t the only thing we have to think about. Another problem can arise when there are simply too many characters for a reader to keep track of. In my book of advice for writers, Write Like A Pro, (you can find a link to it in my last post if you are interested… or not) I mention the Rule of Three. I love that rule but it only helps the writer avoid confusing readers during a specific scene. It doesn’t help if there are simply too many characters in the story.

I’m glad I don’t have that problem. Perhaps I have an opposite problem, if there is such a thing, because I seldom have more than a handful of characters in a whole book. Sometimes just two or three with any other characters existing only to keep the story going. They depart as soon as possible. Like Mickey in Spirit Legend. He’s there for one scene. Or Carlos in Wanted Sharpshooter. He’s in most of the book but just in a glancing way. The book isn’t about him, it’s about Maggie, Max and a man-eating cougar. (Not the older woman kind, the kind with paws and fur and really sharp teeth.)

I like having few characters, I like the focus on the main characters and on the flow of the story. But that’s me. Fortunately, writers are a varied lot and some can and do handle huge casts of characters with ease.