Lydia Howe's Blog, page 24
January 22, 2016
Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks, Week Three: China
Hello this snowy morning from China! (Well, not really, but, you know...) I stayed up last night until 2:15 researching and writing so I could get this up on time today. Thankfully it didn't take a long time going from Mongolia from China, so we got to spend more time in the actual country.
This week I've read countless facts about China, researched the three places Annie decided to visit, listened to Chinese music, looked up common foods, and Googled what China smells like and sounds like. I've watched Youtube videos of people walking down the streets in the cities Annie was in, figured out her route (including the time it took to get each place), had the weather up on my phone, scrolled through hundreds of images of China, and ate large amounts of ginger.
So, pretty much I feel like I really have been in China. And now, y'all can go there, too. Here's week three in our joint adventure of Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks. Enjoy!
Around the World in 52 WeeksWeek Three: China
I ran my fingers along the cold stone and gave a squeal of joy. I was standing on the Great Wall of China. Little Miss Annie’s dreams were coming true. Ever since I looked at a coffee table travel book one rainy and gloomy day as a little girl, I had dreamed of touching the extremely impressive structure. In fact, I built my own “Great wall of Indiana” that day in the living room using pillows and couch cushions. It wasn’t very successful in keeping the “enemy” (aka, younger brothers) out, so instead we joined forces and tried to convince our parents that we should build a wall around our property. That was a no go. I read so much about the Wall and it’s history growing up that I could spout off facts like a tour guide. It was over 2,300 years old, the widest sections were 30 feet, the highest point 26 feet. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World and was the longest structure to be built by people. There were also a lot of lesser known facts such as the use of rice flour for mortar and that the Chinese invented the wheelbarrow and used it while building the wall. All that adds up to being pretty impressive, right?
After visiting the Great Wall, I meandered along the streets, breathing in the smells and listening contentedly to the sounds. It was noisy and busy, a great circus of people and vehicles and a hundred horns sounding all at once. There were people all around me talking in choppy-sounding sentences that I wished I could understand. I was hungry so I looked around, trying to find something to eat. I was ready for some familiar-ish foods after all the new experiences I had in Mongolia, so I passed on eating the scorpions, insects on a stick, and starfish, hoping to find food that would hit closer to home. Finally I found someone selling bean sprout dumplings and they smelled delicious (especially compared to the pig stomaches I had just passed), so I ordered some of them and enjoyed them quite thoroughly.
* * *
Starring at the vast and lifeless army in front of me I was filled with a sense of overwhelming wonder mixed with sorrow. I breathed in deeply and the scent of dust and thousands of years rushed over me. I had been twelve when I heard the words “Terracotta Army” for the first time. My history teacher that year was Mrs. Moon and she filled the class room with a sense of adventure and made learning exciting. Over a decade later we were still in contact via Facebook and I snapped a picture of the famous sculptures specifically for her. Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China (and also whom China was named after), commissioned over 700,000 workers to build an army of clay, starting around 210 BC. It’s predicted that it took over three decades to build the huge project that hosted over 8,000 figures, including horses, chariots, and people. Most historians agree that Qin Shi Huang was preparing for the afterlife, hence the reason he had the army created. I opened my notebook and hastily scribbled down thoughts as they tumbled into my head. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have been Qin Shi Huang. I closed my eyes and thought of the fear he must have had to spend so much time and resources on his afterlife, and yet he was so far off the mark. As spectacular as the Terracotta Army was, I found myself unable to enjoy it. Instead I stood there wishing I could somehow reach back through time and tell the Emperor the truth about what happens after death. Wishing I could explain that there was a way to have peace and rest and complete joy, and building an army was not the answer. “Yet I can tell the people that are alive today,” I whispered the words to myself. “And I will.” Looking down at the masterfully crafted sculptures, I made a decision that from there on out I wouldn’t keep silent. I would share the truth of Jesus and how He had died to pay the price for our sins so we could have a relationship with God and eventually live with Him in heaven. Nothing we could do, even something as impressive as creating what would become one of the greatest historical discoveries of the twentieth century, could save us; only Jesus could do that. I left the Terracotta Army Museum in a sober state of mind.
* * *
After spending Tuesday visiting the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, I got up nice and early Wednesday morning and went down to the train station to take the high speed rail to Jilin’s Rime, which is one of the four natural wonders in China. The trip would be between eight and nine hours so I settled back in my seat, prepared to have a relaxing day of watching China speed by and catch up on some facts about the most populated and forth largest (land-wise) country in the world. I pulled out my phone and looked through a couple of guidebooks I had downloaded onto my kindle before leaving Mongolia’s capital. There were all sorts of cool facts and I decided to do a blog post that contained some of the ones I liked best. After a few minutes I looked back outside and watched as the gray landscape of a cold January day flashed by. The buildings had a very different flair than I was used to back home, but the weather at that moment was quite familiar.
The ding of a text coming in surprised me. Exploration Airlines had worked it out so I could have cell service, but with the time difference and exploring I’d been too busy to do much communicating other than my blogging and vlogging. Hey, the editing crew has your latest vlog up about the Great Wall; it looks like you’re having so much fun there! Do you need help with anything? I read the text from Sophie and did some quick calculations: it was eight a’clock back home, way after work hours. Sophie was such a great assistant. It is wonderful here. I’m in a train and about ready to play a game of China Trivia with myself. I pressed send and about three seconds later she replied: Nice! I’ll join in. Let’s see who can come up with the best fact. I sat up straighter and stretched my arms. You’re on. I licked my lips and thought for a moment, trying to come up with a fact from all the information I’d read during the last few days. Did you know that the world’s first paper money was created in China 1,400 years ago? I sent the text and received one from Sophie at almost the exact same time, Did you know that China has only one official time zone? “Um, yes, I knew that.” I answered her text aloud and then glanced around hoping that no one was paying attention to me. The one-time-zone thing threw me for a loop since the sunrise can be as late as 10 am in some parts of the country. Or that dyeing pets to look like wild animals is a popular thing there nowadays. I started to type a reply, but Sophie sent another one before I could gather my thoughts. And a new skyscraper is built in China every five days. So, it’s kinda not surprising that China used more cement in three years (from 2011-2013) than the U.S. used in the whole 20th century. I grinned. Julia must have been Googling facts. Also: Half of the world’s pigs live in China. Have you eaten a lot of pork there? I only had time to answer “yes” before another text came in. Air pollution in China increases snowfall in California. (Don’t ask me how that works…) Alright, alright, you win! I sent her a quick text. How in the world did you get those facts so quickly? It took a minute for Sophie to reply, That’s for me to know and you not to find out. ;) I need to start a load of laundry now, so I’ll sign off. Let me know if you need anything. I said goodnight to Sophie and then got back to work.
Thursday morning I awoke to a shimmering, breath-taking, fairy tale like beauty. Ice covered everything, coating the world with a million little flowers that sparkled in the early morning sun. Bundling up against the cold, I spent the morning soaking in the surreal landscape and snapping hundreds of pictures. As afternoon approached I was cold, hungry, and tired so I found a restaurant that smelled deliciously of ginger, peanuts, chicken, and unknown spices and ducked through it’s welcoming door. I ordered hot tea and gong bao chicken after being assured that I wasn’t actually going to be served cat meat. The food was delicious: a mixture of chicken, fried peanuts and dried chili that gave each bite a little punch to the tastebuds and made me thankful for my tea to help cool my mouth down. As I ate I jotted notes down on my notebook and looked through some of the pictures I had taken, deleting a fair amount that hadn’t turned out. Mostly though, I simply rested and breathed in the world and culture around me. Friday and Saturday were spent visiting a meteorite museum and the Puppet Emperor’s Palace, as well as discovering that tofu (which I had always thought of as something only vegans eat) is delicious. I ended up ordering it twice, and probably would have ordered it for the rest of my meals as well if it weren’t for my commitment to trying new things. Sunday morning I couldn’t find any church to attend and I didn’t have a clue how to go about looking for one, so I ended up spending my morning walking along the river, praying for the country. I rested the rest of the day, knowing that in the morning I would be off again on another adventure.
This week I've read countless facts about China, researched the three places Annie decided to visit, listened to Chinese music, looked up common foods, and Googled what China smells like and sounds like. I've watched Youtube videos of people walking down the streets in the cities Annie was in, figured out her route (including the time it took to get each place), had the weather up on my phone, scrolled through hundreds of images of China, and ate large amounts of ginger.
So, pretty much I feel like I really have been in China. And now, y'all can go there, too. Here's week three in our joint adventure of Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks. Enjoy!
Around the World in 52 WeeksWeek Three: China
I ran my fingers along the cold stone and gave a squeal of joy. I was standing on the Great Wall of China. Little Miss Annie’s dreams were coming true. Ever since I looked at a coffee table travel book one rainy and gloomy day as a little girl, I had dreamed of touching the extremely impressive structure. In fact, I built my own “Great wall of Indiana” that day in the living room using pillows and couch cushions. It wasn’t very successful in keeping the “enemy” (aka, younger brothers) out, so instead we joined forces and tried to convince our parents that we should build a wall around our property. That was a no go. I read so much about the Wall and it’s history growing up that I could spout off facts like a tour guide. It was over 2,300 years old, the widest sections were 30 feet, the highest point 26 feet. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World and was the longest structure to be built by people. There were also a lot of lesser known facts such as the use of rice flour for mortar and that the Chinese invented the wheelbarrow and used it while building the wall. All that adds up to being pretty impressive, right?
After visiting the Great Wall, I meandered along the streets, breathing in the smells and listening contentedly to the sounds. It was noisy and busy, a great circus of people and vehicles and a hundred horns sounding all at once. There were people all around me talking in choppy-sounding sentences that I wished I could understand. I was hungry so I looked around, trying to find something to eat. I was ready for some familiar-ish foods after all the new experiences I had in Mongolia, so I passed on eating the scorpions, insects on a stick, and starfish, hoping to find food that would hit closer to home. Finally I found someone selling bean sprout dumplings and they smelled delicious (especially compared to the pig stomaches I had just passed), so I ordered some of them and enjoyed them quite thoroughly.
* * *
Starring at the vast and lifeless army in front of me I was filled with a sense of overwhelming wonder mixed with sorrow. I breathed in deeply and the scent of dust and thousands of years rushed over me. I had been twelve when I heard the words “Terracotta Army” for the first time. My history teacher that year was Mrs. Moon and she filled the class room with a sense of adventure and made learning exciting. Over a decade later we were still in contact via Facebook and I snapped a picture of the famous sculptures specifically for her. Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China (and also whom China was named after), commissioned over 700,000 workers to build an army of clay, starting around 210 BC. It’s predicted that it took over three decades to build the huge project that hosted over 8,000 figures, including horses, chariots, and people. Most historians agree that Qin Shi Huang was preparing for the afterlife, hence the reason he had the army created. I opened my notebook and hastily scribbled down thoughts as they tumbled into my head. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have been Qin Shi Huang. I closed my eyes and thought of the fear he must have had to spend so much time and resources on his afterlife, and yet he was so far off the mark. As spectacular as the Terracotta Army was, I found myself unable to enjoy it. Instead I stood there wishing I could somehow reach back through time and tell the Emperor the truth about what happens after death. Wishing I could explain that there was a way to have peace and rest and complete joy, and building an army was not the answer. “Yet I can tell the people that are alive today,” I whispered the words to myself. “And I will.” Looking down at the masterfully crafted sculptures, I made a decision that from there on out I wouldn’t keep silent. I would share the truth of Jesus and how He had died to pay the price for our sins so we could have a relationship with God and eventually live with Him in heaven. Nothing we could do, even something as impressive as creating what would become one of the greatest historical discoveries of the twentieth century, could save us; only Jesus could do that. I left the Terracotta Army Museum in a sober state of mind.
* * *
After spending Tuesday visiting the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army, I got up nice and early Wednesday morning and went down to the train station to take the high speed rail to Jilin’s Rime, which is one of the four natural wonders in China. The trip would be between eight and nine hours so I settled back in my seat, prepared to have a relaxing day of watching China speed by and catch up on some facts about the most populated and forth largest (land-wise) country in the world. I pulled out my phone and looked through a couple of guidebooks I had downloaded onto my kindle before leaving Mongolia’s capital. There were all sorts of cool facts and I decided to do a blog post that contained some of the ones I liked best. After a few minutes I looked back outside and watched as the gray landscape of a cold January day flashed by. The buildings had a very different flair than I was used to back home, but the weather at that moment was quite familiar.
The ding of a text coming in surprised me. Exploration Airlines had worked it out so I could have cell service, but with the time difference and exploring I’d been too busy to do much communicating other than my blogging and vlogging. Hey, the editing crew has your latest vlog up about the Great Wall; it looks like you’re having so much fun there! Do you need help with anything? I read the text from Sophie and did some quick calculations: it was eight a’clock back home, way after work hours. Sophie was such a great assistant. It is wonderful here. I’m in a train and about ready to play a game of China Trivia with myself. I pressed send and about three seconds later she replied: Nice! I’ll join in. Let’s see who can come up with the best fact. I sat up straighter and stretched my arms. You’re on. I licked my lips and thought for a moment, trying to come up with a fact from all the information I’d read during the last few days. Did you know that the world’s first paper money was created in China 1,400 years ago? I sent the text and received one from Sophie at almost the exact same time, Did you know that China has only one official time zone? “Um, yes, I knew that.” I answered her text aloud and then glanced around hoping that no one was paying attention to me. The one-time-zone thing threw me for a loop since the sunrise can be as late as 10 am in some parts of the country. Or that dyeing pets to look like wild animals is a popular thing there nowadays. I started to type a reply, but Sophie sent another one before I could gather my thoughts. And a new skyscraper is built in China every five days. So, it’s kinda not surprising that China used more cement in three years (from 2011-2013) than the U.S. used in the whole 20th century. I grinned. Julia must have been Googling facts. Also: Half of the world’s pigs live in China. Have you eaten a lot of pork there? I only had time to answer “yes” before another text came in. Air pollution in China increases snowfall in California. (Don’t ask me how that works…) Alright, alright, you win! I sent her a quick text. How in the world did you get those facts so quickly? It took a minute for Sophie to reply, That’s for me to know and you not to find out. ;) I need to start a load of laundry now, so I’ll sign off. Let me know if you need anything. I said goodnight to Sophie and then got back to work.
Thursday morning I awoke to a shimmering, breath-taking, fairy tale like beauty. Ice covered everything, coating the world with a million little flowers that sparkled in the early morning sun. Bundling up against the cold, I spent the morning soaking in the surreal landscape and snapping hundreds of pictures. As afternoon approached I was cold, hungry, and tired so I found a restaurant that smelled deliciously of ginger, peanuts, chicken, and unknown spices and ducked through it’s welcoming door. I ordered hot tea and gong bao chicken after being assured that I wasn’t actually going to be served cat meat. The food was delicious: a mixture of chicken, fried peanuts and dried chili that gave each bite a little punch to the tastebuds and made me thankful for my tea to help cool my mouth down. As I ate I jotted notes down on my notebook and looked through some of the pictures I had taken, deleting a fair amount that hadn’t turned out. Mostly though, I simply rested and breathed in the world and culture around me. Friday and Saturday were spent visiting a meteorite museum and the Puppet Emperor’s Palace, as well as discovering that tofu (which I had always thought of as something only vegans eat) is delicious. I ended up ordering it twice, and probably would have ordered it for the rest of my meals as well if it weren’t for my commitment to trying new things. Sunday morning I couldn’t find any church to attend and I didn’t have a clue how to go about looking for one, so I ended up spending my morning walking along the river, praying for the country. I rested the rest of the day, knowing that in the morning I would be off again on another adventure.
January 21, 2016
Chopping Away
I've been helping my little brother learn the difference between odd and even numbers. How it works is he tells me a number between one and ten and I hold up that amount of fingers; then he tells me to put down half of them. If it's an even number I simply put down half of the fingers. But if it's an odd number than I make a big deal of having to chop one of my fingers in half to put down half of them because there's an "odd one out." It's a good way to get the lesson to stick in his brain.
Well. Today I get to find some of the "odd" scenes in When Life Hands You Lymes and chop them down. I'm not sure yet if I'm looking forward to it or not. Actually, I've been balking at the idea for a couple of months now. Each and every one of those scenes took time, experience, a host of emotions, and a lot of energy to concoct. I've already cut thousands upon thousands of words out of the book and I have a bit of an attachment to all the remaining scenes.
Yesterday I cut a scene that I liked. I've had it in the back of my mind for a while now that I don't really need it in WLHYL. Yes, I like it. Yes, it adds something. Yes, I poured myself into writing it. Yet it didn't actually progress the story. It was a flashback and flashbacks are supposed to be used sparingly. (When I started on the second draft of WLHYL I probably had around 5,000-7,000 words of flashback. I'm pretty sure I have about 900 words of flashbacks now.)
After cutting that scene last night I was surprised. It felt empowering. Like maybe I could do that again. Maybe I could chop down the word count that I worked so hard to build. I would make it a game to see how many words (within reason) I could get rid of. Full scenes I would keep in a separate document in case I could some how use the later on, or even post them as snippets here on Noveltea.
I determined long ago I would do whatever (okay, okay, not everything, but you catch my drift) I needed to in order to get my books where they needed to be. Over the years that has meant listening to a lot of advice from my editors that I balked at inside and cheerfully complied with on the outside. It's meant ranting for a few moments when I receive back critiques from beta readers that I don't agree with, but then detaching my emotions from the book and taking a good, hard look at what they had to say. It's meant learning and growing and sticking with a project even when I don't feel like it any more. It's meant being teachable and tossing my pride to the wind and being okay with being "wrong." And, it's meant cutting out scenes that I really like.
So, even though I'm not quite excited about chopping out those odd scenes, I know it will increase the odds of WLHYL being successful and inspiring and helping others, so in a way I am excited about it.
* * *
What about you? Do you have a hard time chopping down scenes?
Well. Today I get to find some of the "odd" scenes in When Life Hands You Lymes and chop them down. I'm not sure yet if I'm looking forward to it or not. Actually, I've been balking at the idea for a couple of months now. Each and every one of those scenes took time, experience, a host of emotions, and a lot of energy to concoct. I've already cut thousands upon thousands of words out of the book and I have a bit of an attachment to all the remaining scenes.
Yesterday I cut a scene that I liked. I've had it in the back of my mind for a while now that I don't really need it in WLHYL. Yes, I like it. Yes, it adds something. Yes, I poured myself into writing it. Yet it didn't actually progress the story. It was a flashback and flashbacks are supposed to be used sparingly. (When I started on the second draft of WLHYL I probably had around 5,000-7,000 words of flashback. I'm pretty sure I have about 900 words of flashbacks now.)
After cutting that scene last night I was surprised. It felt empowering. Like maybe I could do that again. Maybe I could chop down the word count that I worked so hard to build. I would make it a game to see how many words (within reason) I could get rid of. Full scenes I would keep in a separate document in case I could some how use the later on, or even post them as snippets here on Noveltea.
I determined long ago I would do whatever (okay, okay, not everything, but you catch my drift) I needed to in order to get my books where they needed to be. Over the years that has meant listening to a lot of advice from my editors that I balked at inside and cheerfully complied with on the outside. It's meant ranting for a few moments when I receive back critiques from beta readers that I don't agree with, but then detaching my emotions from the book and taking a good, hard look at what they had to say. It's meant learning and growing and sticking with a project even when I don't feel like it any more. It's meant being teachable and tossing my pride to the wind and being okay with being "wrong." And, it's meant cutting out scenes that I really like.
So, even though I'm not quite excited about chopping out those odd scenes, I know it will increase the odds of WLHYL being successful and inspiring and helping others, so in a way I am excited about it.
* * *
What about you? Do you have a hard time chopping down scenes?
January 20, 2016
A Little Post of Happiness
A lot of y'all have probably heard me talk about Sarah, my wonderfully amazing best friend. You know, she's the one who moved from across the world and now lives only a few minutes down the road and I have a ton of fun hanging out with her and making memories and laughing and talking and all that kind of happy stuff.
Well, for Christmas she gave me this delightful snowman, only I didn't realize that it was mine. It was sitting there for several days and I kept stopping to look at it because it was so cute and made me smile, but it actually never entered my mind that it might belong to me. Then on Christmas day she brought it over to me and I was thrilled, needless to say.
Inside of the snowman were a host of fun things like balloons and stickers and pickles, but the best part was the lamp she gave me for my office. Now my evenings and early mornings are so soft and cozy because I can have a dim light inside of the bright overhead ones. Sometimes I just sit in my office without doing anything besides soaking in the stillness of a beautiful and peaceful night.
In addition to the cute snowman, Sarah also wrote me a poem about my writing. It's not the first poem Sarah's written for me, but it was the first about writing. I couldn't stop smiling at the word pictures when she first read it to me.
I decided to share the poem with you and maybe it will inspire you with your writing as well.
Oh Lydia, my author friend Your writing skills I will commendYou have the best imaginationThat helps you in your contemplation
Right from your mind, there leaps a thoughtAnd soon a story line is wroughtThat begs you then to write it downAnd in your brain it jumps around
And as it bounces and it skips It hops right out your fingertips And when I come to take a look Oh my! It's resting in a book!
Right there it travels the world aroundTo share it's life without a soundOut there to do it's maker's plan To bless a life wherever it can. ~Sarah H.
Well, for Christmas she gave me this delightful snowman, only I didn't realize that it was mine. It was sitting there for several days and I kept stopping to look at it because it was so cute and made me smile, but it actually never entered my mind that it might belong to me. Then on Christmas day she brought it over to me and I was thrilled, needless to say.
Inside of the snowman were a host of fun things like balloons and stickers and pickles, but the best part was the lamp she gave me for my office. Now my evenings and early mornings are so soft and cozy because I can have a dim light inside of the bright overhead ones. Sometimes I just sit in my office without doing anything besides soaking in the stillness of a beautiful and peaceful night.
In addition to the cute snowman, Sarah also wrote me a poem about my writing. It's not the first poem Sarah's written for me, but it was the first about writing. I couldn't stop smiling at the word pictures when she first read it to me.
I decided to share the poem with you and maybe it will inspire you with your writing as well.
Oh Lydia, my author friend Your writing skills I will commendYou have the best imaginationThat helps you in your contemplation
Right from your mind, there leaps a thoughtAnd soon a story line is wroughtThat begs you then to write it downAnd in your brain it jumps around
And as it bounces and it skips It hops right out your fingertips And when I come to take a look Oh my! It's resting in a book!
Right there it travels the world aroundTo share it's life without a soundOut there to do it's maker's plan To bless a life wherever it can. ~Sarah H.
January 19, 2016
Questions & Thoughts During the Sixth Draft
"When should Katie begin her upward climb in her character arch?" "How much of this new sub-plot should I add in this section?""Oh my lands. How in the world did I not realize how wordy that was?" "There the word was is again. And again. Yikes.""Ah yes, I need to search for all the times I use the word very and see if they really are necessary." "Choices, choices, choices... What is the best kind of fast-food type restaurant to have them own?" "Service like Chick-fil-A is a must, and since I don't want to mimic them, that means no chicken sandwiches." "I don't want to do a burger place either. Nothing like McDonalds or Taco Bell. Maybe something kinda like Panera Bread?" "Wait, did I edit out all of Maddie's whining? Cause it can't be excessive, but it's not realistic to have it nonexistent, either." "I wish playing Uno could somehow be considered research for WLHYL." "Does this scene depict the same emotions as this other scene?" "Ugg. Delete. Delete. Delete. So many words to say something so simple." "Ha. Maddie is eating Ezekiel bread. That means she's not even as strict as I am with food.""I love late nights and one of my beta readers said maybe Maddie should learn to, too. Where would I work that in...""Past tense. Stay in past tense, girl." "At least I've mastered the art of not head-hopping."
"How much of my crazy thought processes come through in the characters?"
"Humm... Are people going to grasp the right voice inflection for this sentence?"
"Too bad Maddie isn't all into games I could have her play 7 Wonders a lot, then I'd have to play it a lot too, for research."
"Bailey, Abbie, Katie, and Maddie. Yikes. I use a lot of names ending in "ie." I wonder if that's going to confuse the readers?"
"I need to be consistent. Am I going to always use the Oxford Comma?"
"Ok? Okay? K? Yeah. I think Okay is the correct one to use. Unless they're texting. Or Maddie is upset."
"Oh no. I used the same type of structure for that sentence. And the next one. And the one after that. Alright, let's see how we can switch that up."
"Maybe they should have an Asian type drive through place. Or an old fashioned ice cream parlor? Or maybe they should serve Italian foods."
"Where are their ancestors from anyway? That would probably help in determining what kind of food they made."
"I could add in more of Carter during this draft, possibly."
"Pinterest. I need to figure out what their restaurants look like. That cute "old fashioned" style is my first choice..."
"Wait, what search words do I even use?"
"Too bad I'm eating so healthily, or I would totally use this opportunity to do some researching and go out to eat at a bunch of fast food places."
"Wait, maybe that's it. Maddie can't eat hardly anything when they are away from home so they... Oh yes. That's a good one."
"Why doesn't Maddie play board games?"
"NOOO. I can not read that section again right now. I'll have to come back to it later."
"My next book so needs characters who play board games so I can count it as research."
"Wait, I'm already writing my next two books. Maybe I should add a third?"
"MADALYN MARIE EMERSON, you're not suposed to do that."
"Oh wait a second. I'm the one who made you do that. Carry on."
"Some day I really should have a banana split to make sure I depicted that scene the right way..."
* * *
What about you? Can you relate to having any of these thoughts during editing?
"How much of my crazy thought processes come through in the characters?"
"Humm... Are people going to grasp the right voice inflection for this sentence?"
"Too bad Maddie isn't all into games I could have her play 7 Wonders a lot, then I'd have to play it a lot too, for research."
"Bailey, Abbie, Katie, and Maddie. Yikes. I use a lot of names ending in "ie." I wonder if that's going to confuse the readers?"
"I need to be consistent. Am I going to always use the Oxford Comma?"
"Ok? Okay? K? Yeah. I think Okay is the correct one to use. Unless they're texting. Or Maddie is upset."
"Oh no. I used the same type of structure for that sentence. And the next one. And the one after that. Alright, let's see how we can switch that up."
"Maybe they should have an Asian type drive through place. Or an old fashioned ice cream parlor? Or maybe they should serve Italian foods."
"Where are their ancestors from anyway? That would probably help in determining what kind of food they made."
"I could add in more of Carter during this draft, possibly."
"Pinterest. I need to figure out what their restaurants look like. That cute "old fashioned" style is my first choice..."
"Wait, what search words do I even use?"
"Too bad I'm eating so healthily, or I would totally use this opportunity to do some researching and go out to eat at a bunch of fast food places."
"Wait, maybe that's it. Maddie can't eat hardly anything when they are away from home so they... Oh yes. That's a good one."
"Why doesn't Maddie play board games?"
"NOOO. I can not read that section again right now. I'll have to come back to it later."
"My next book so needs characters who play board games so I can count it as research."
"Wait, I'm already writing my next two books. Maybe I should add a third?"
"MADALYN MARIE EMERSON, you're not suposed to do that."
"Oh wait a second. I'm the one who made you do that. Carry on."
"Some day I really should have a banana split to make sure I depicted that scene the right way..."
* * *
What about you? Can you relate to having any of these thoughts during editing?
January 18, 2016
Uniqueness in Characters
Getting a well-rounded character isn't really all that difficult.
It's getting the second and third and eighth well-rounded character that gives me trouble. Cause see, they like to mimic each other and play follow-the-leader and that really doesn't work when it comes to writing a book. (Hint: If two characters are identical in every aspect than one of them is unnecessary.)
I used to have an even worse problem where not only all the characters in one book were alike, but all the characters in all my books were pretty much clones. The main character was always a slightly tom-boyish girl who loved being outside, liked animals, went barefoot, enjoyed reading, could cook, was homeschooled (if that was applicable to the world they lived in), had a deep bond with their family, they traveled, had brown hair, and they were all practically perfect...
This "same" character could fit into many different stories and time periods:
*Annah's story took place in a made up country where a little girl and her mean big sister traveled though a large forest looking for their extended family after their parents died. They ended up becoming part of a spy ring that printed Bibles and tried to get the royal family back on the throne after a bad guy took over and created a dictatorship.
*Rebecca's story took place about twenty years ago and she lived with her mom, twin sister, and younger brother. They were estranged from most of their extended family, but as time went on and clues were found, relationships were restored. There was also a huge mansion and wealthy heir who lived up on a hill and lots of flower gardens and the mom cleaned for the lady, but I don't remember the details.
*Rosanna's story took place in modern day Ohio (I think), and was about a girl staying with her older sister and brother-in-law. She follows a decades-old treasure map, solves a mystery, and hangs out with family.
*Natalya's story took place in the land of Turglar where she had to travel for weeks by herself in a dangerous country to pass on secret information to her grandfather who she hadn't seen since she was a baby.
*Lydia's story took place in modern day USA and involved a mystery in a bookstore and traveling with parents for their job (which is totally cool). Plus, it was also about an adventure in a cave and getting trapped and all that good stuff.
When I started WLHYL I decided to do away with my photocopied character and although I don't think it would be evident to most people, Madalyn is pretty much the opposite of those ^ characters.
Madalyn: Isn't tomboyish at all, is indoors girl, doesn't particularly enjoy animals. She's kinda proper with how she dresses (barefoot? no thank you), doesn't read much except for work, can make basic foods but doesn't very often, and went to a Christian school (although she does end up getting tutored at home). She does have a deep bond with her family, travel, and have brown hair, though.
There were a lot of other ways I made Madalyn unique as well that I hadn't even planned on. See, after I got into the story and really focused on who Maddie was, she began taking on her own personality. As I've gone through the editing stages, every once in a while I've stopped and looked at the book all squinty and thought That's not what Maddie would do! and then I change it.
For instance Madalyn never says "I think" or "I guess" or any of those-types of second-guessing sentences. When she speaks it's with confidence (which, is kinda funny since one of her issues is being insecure with choosing music "over" the family business). Before this book it never even entered my mind to distinguish between characters by a simple thing like that.
* * *What about you? How do you make your characters unique? Or, what kind of uniqueness do you like finding in characters?
* * * Yay! Yay! Yay! It's time to pick a new country to spend this week in. This week we're going to go to: China!
It's getting the second and third and eighth well-rounded character that gives me trouble. Cause see, they like to mimic each other and play follow-the-leader and that really doesn't work when it comes to writing a book. (Hint: If two characters are identical in every aspect than one of them is unnecessary.)
I used to have an even worse problem where not only all the characters in one book were alike, but all the characters in all my books were pretty much clones. The main character was always a slightly tom-boyish girl who loved being outside, liked animals, went barefoot, enjoyed reading, could cook, was homeschooled (if that was applicable to the world they lived in), had a deep bond with their family, they traveled, had brown hair, and they were all practically perfect...
This "same" character could fit into many different stories and time periods:
*Annah's story took place in a made up country where a little girl and her mean big sister traveled though a large forest looking for their extended family after their parents died. They ended up becoming part of a spy ring that printed Bibles and tried to get the royal family back on the throne after a bad guy took over and created a dictatorship.
*Rebecca's story took place about twenty years ago and she lived with her mom, twin sister, and younger brother. They were estranged from most of their extended family, but as time went on and clues were found, relationships were restored. There was also a huge mansion and wealthy heir who lived up on a hill and lots of flower gardens and the mom cleaned for the lady, but I don't remember the details.
*Rosanna's story took place in modern day Ohio (I think), and was about a girl staying with her older sister and brother-in-law. She follows a decades-old treasure map, solves a mystery, and hangs out with family.
*Natalya's story took place in the land of Turglar where she had to travel for weeks by herself in a dangerous country to pass on secret information to her grandfather who she hadn't seen since she was a baby.
*Lydia's story took place in modern day USA and involved a mystery in a bookstore and traveling with parents for their job (which is totally cool). Plus, it was also about an adventure in a cave and getting trapped and all that good stuff.
When I started WLHYL I decided to do away with my photocopied character and although I don't think it would be evident to most people, Madalyn is pretty much the opposite of those ^ characters.
Madalyn: Isn't tomboyish at all, is indoors girl, doesn't particularly enjoy animals. She's kinda proper with how she dresses (barefoot? no thank you), doesn't read much except for work, can make basic foods but doesn't very often, and went to a Christian school (although she does end up getting tutored at home). She does have a deep bond with her family, travel, and have brown hair, though.
There were a lot of other ways I made Madalyn unique as well that I hadn't even planned on. See, after I got into the story and really focused on who Maddie was, she began taking on her own personality. As I've gone through the editing stages, every once in a while I've stopped and looked at the book all squinty and thought That's not what Maddie would do! and then I change it.
For instance Madalyn never says "I think" or "I guess" or any of those-types of second-guessing sentences. When she speaks it's with confidence (which, is kinda funny since one of her issues is being insecure with choosing music "over" the family business). Before this book it never even entered my mind to distinguish between characters by a simple thing like that.
* * *What about you? How do you make your characters unique? Or, what kind of uniqueness do you like finding in characters?
* * * Yay! Yay! Yay! It's time to pick a new country to spend this week in. This week we're going to go to: China!
January 15, 2016
Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks Week Two: Mongolia
Who would have ever guessed this would be so much fun? It was great being in Mongolia this week, although I must admit, it was cold! There were several times that I pulled up the weather app on my phone and confused my real weather with my virtual weather.
The flight itinerary Annie took. And now, I'm excited to present you with week two of Noveltea's series, Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks:
Around the World in 52 Weeks Week Two: Mongolia
I laughed as I awkwardly struggled into two extra layers of clothing in the Ulaanbaatar airports public restroom. Studying my mound of clothes in front of the mirror I shook my head, “What in the world have you gotten yourself into this time, Annie?” Exiting the restroom I joined up with Sarnai, the smiling and red-cheeked Mongolian lady who would be hosting me during my stay in Mongolia. She reminded me of my mother and I was happy I had a chance to get to know her better. “Are you ready?” “Yes, thank you.” “Come then, my husband has your luggage loaded into the van.” Sarnai led me outside and the cold air and pollution filled my senses in a swirling, car-sick sort of way. “The air here is bad,” Sarnai shook her head, “At our ger the world is fresh.” I climbed into the van and promptly fell asleep. The last twenty-five hours had been spent flying from Lisbon to Budapest, from Budapest to Moscow, and finally from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar. The only thing I knew about Mongolia when my finger landed on the country sandwiched between Russia and China was that it was the homeland of Genghis Khan, a warrior I had been amazed by in sixth grade. The first thing I had done was to look up the weather. I’d gasped in dismay when I saw that most days fell into the range of -20 to -40; yikes. Sophie had worked pretty much non-stop back in the states getting everything set up for me and when I arrived in Mongolia I not only had a family to stay with, but transportation to get there, and the right kind of clothes to wear. “We have arrived.” Sarnai’s words awoke me. Embarrassed, I apologized for falling asleep, but Sarnai and her husband, Batbayar, grinned and waved my words away. “It is a long trip. Of course you were tired.” Batbayar frowned at me when I reached back to gather up my lugguage. “I’ll get that. Now go into our ger and we can have breakfast.” I climbed out of the van and then stopped. “Woah.” Turning in a full circle I felt a smile transforming my sleepy and almost frozen face. “This is gorgeous.” The hills were golden and reminded me of sand dunes as they rose and fell in smooth ripples. There was a light dusting of snow that reminded me of powdered sugar on a donut and the cattle wandering about had thick, furry, reddish hair and looked like they should be cuddled in a big hug. “We don't have close neighbors as you can see.” Sarnai led me to their ger. “Mongolia is the most sparsely populated nation in the world.” Her words were spoken with pride. “We have much beautiful wilderness.” “I’m amazed.” I shook my head. “Do you know how many people there are per square mile?” Sarnai’s face twisted in confusion, “I’m not sure what that means. We will have to ask my husband.” She opened the brightly colored door to their ger and allowed me to enter first. “Thank you.” I stepped inside and looked around. A ger is a round, moveable house that is kinda like a sturdy tent. It only takes about an hour to set up and is very useful to the Mongolian’s - many of whom are nomadic. Sarnai’s ger was cozy inside with thick rugs on the floor, a wood burning stove in the middle, beds at one side and across from that, table and chairs. “Your home is lovely.” The furnishings were brightly colored and had so many painted and carved designs I wanted to go around and examine each piece. Batbayar came in just then, bringing my luggage and a woossh of cold air with him. Sarnai talked to him rapidly for a moment in Mongolian and then I heard the words square mile. “Ah, you tourist always ask the same questions.” Batbayar’s eyes twinkled as he took off his big, warm-looking hat and then stoked the fire. “There are only 4.3 people per square mile. Perhaps you’ll like it here enough that you’ll stay?” His smile told me he was teasing, “Then we’d have to raise our average.” Sarnai began working on cutting up some sort of meat. I offered to help her, but she shook her head, “No, no, no. You watch this time and learn.” I nodded. “Now animals?” Batbayar rubbed his hands together over the stove. “There are many of those. Here in our country we have thirteen times more horses and thirty-five times more sheep than humans.” “So many?” I shook my head. I could easily imagine what they did with the sheep, but… “What do you do with all of the horses?” “Many people use them for transportation. We also eat them and drink their milk.” I looked at the food his wife was prepping and willed myself not to get sick to my stomach. When in Rome do as the Romans do… “Horses are very useful. See, our land is so vast that the Netherlands could fit inside it thirty-seven times.” Batbayar spoke with enthusiasm, as if he often shared this information with guests and never grew tired of talking about his beloved country. “That is impressive.” I wasn’t quite sure what that had to do with horses being important, though. “Ah yes, but what is really impressive is that the Mongolian roads could fit into the Dutch road system sixty-seven times.” It took a moment for his words to sink in, “So, that’s why horses are so useful?” “Right, right. Also our camels. We use them for transportation too.” “Camels? Wow.” I rubbed my forehead. I obviously knew basically nothing about other cultures and countries. “I thought camels only lived in hot areas.” “No, no, that’s a common mistake people make. Our camels can live in very cold weather. They have long hair and keep warm.” “Breakfast is ready,” Sarnai informed us, waving us over to the table.
The next four days were more cozy than I could have ever imagined. Batbayar and Sarnai were the perfect hosts and I felt like we became good friends. I learned how to help take care of their sheep, goats, yaks, horses, and camels. I gathered firewood, cooked with Sarnai, watched Batbayar repair his tools, getting them ready for spring planting, and even tried my hand at sewing for Sarnai (that didn’t work out too well, though).
In the evenings we would sit around the wood stove sipping burning hot milk tea and talking. I asked hundreds of questions about their land and culture and they answered with such enthusiasm that at times I forgot to take notes because it was so intriguing. I was especially interested to learn that some of the people kept eagles as pets, and some even went hunting with them. Growing up I had read a handful of medieval books where the nobility went hunting with birds of prey, but I hadn’t realized people still did that nowadays. “Yes, there is even a festival that is called the Golden Eagle festival.” Sarnai stood up to refill my mug of milk tea. “You should come back and visit again for the festival, no?” “Thank you for the tea.” I blew on the steam that floated into the air, “And that sounds like fun. What do they do at the festival?” “It begins with a colorful parade of all the eagle hunters riding through on horseback. They have very special hunting costumes and it is beautiful to look at.” Sarnai sighed in delight, “No Mongolian child has truly lived until they have seen the sight for themselves. My papa used to tell me about it when I was just a wee girl.” “The do competitions and the eagles are judged on how fast they are. The men also take part in traditional games and show off their horsemanship skills,” Batbayar added, “It is grand.” Batbayar was also eager to inform me that Mongolia had a Pony Express style postal service long before the USA ever thought of it. “Kublai Khan established our mail service about a thousand years ago and they could be carried hundreds of miles a day on nonstop horseback,” his words were spoken with pride. “See, you Americans learned from us, no?” “Indeed.” I laughed. “I’m sure we could learn from you in many more ways, as well.” “Such as in eating horse meat?” I cringed slightly, “Well… I’m not sure how well that would go over with my friends.” Batbayar’s deep chuckle made me smile, “But you tried it, you make a good Mongolian.” I beamed at the praise, “Thank you, Batbayar.” All too soon it was Saturday and time for me to head back to Ulaanbaatar so I could get caught up on my blogging and upload my vlogs, talk to my family, and fly out to my next destination on Monday. I was sad to leave.
* * *
Extra: watch this two minute video of a ger being assembled.
The flight itinerary Annie took. And now, I'm excited to present you with week two of Noveltea's series, Around the World in Fifty-Two Weeks: 
Around the World in 52 Weeks Week Two: Mongolia
I laughed as I awkwardly struggled into two extra layers of clothing in the Ulaanbaatar airports public restroom. Studying my mound of clothes in front of the mirror I shook my head, “What in the world have you gotten yourself into this time, Annie?” Exiting the restroom I joined up with Sarnai, the smiling and red-cheeked Mongolian lady who would be hosting me during my stay in Mongolia. She reminded me of my mother and I was happy I had a chance to get to know her better. “Are you ready?” “Yes, thank you.” “Come then, my husband has your luggage loaded into the van.” Sarnai led me outside and the cold air and pollution filled my senses in a swirling, car-sick sort of way. “The air here is bad,” Sarnai shook her head, “At our ger the world is fresh.” I climbed into the van and promptly fell asleep. The last twenty-five hours had been spent flying from Lisbon to Budapest, from Budapest to Moscow, and finally from Moscow to Ulaanbaatar. The only thing I knew about Mongolia when my finger landed on the country sandwiched between Russia and China was that it was the homeland of Genghis Khan, a warrior I had been amazed by in sixth grade. The first thing I had done was to look up the weather. I’d gasped in dismay when I saw that most days fell into the range of -20 to -40; yikes. Sophie had worked pretty much non-stop back in the states getting everything set up for me and when I arrived in Mongolia I not only had a family to stay with, but transportation to get there, and the right kind of clothes to wear. “We have arrived.” Sarnai’s words awoke me. Embarrassed, I apologized for falling asleep, but Sarnai and her husband, Batbayar, grinned and waved my words away. “It is a long trip. Of course you were tired.” Batbayar frowned at me when I reached back to gather up my lugguage. “I’ll get that. Now go into our ger and we can have breakfast.” I climbed out of the van and then stopped. “Woah.” Turning in a full circle I felt a smile transforming my sleepy and almost frozen face. “This is gorgeous.” The hills were golden and reminded me of sand dunes as they rose and fell in smooth ripples. There was a light dusting of snow that reminded me of powdered sugar on a donut and the cattle wandering about had thick, furry, reddish hair and looked like they should be cuddled in a big hug. “We don't have close neighbors as you can see.” Sarnai led me to their ger. “Mongolia is the most sparsely populated nation in the world.” Her words were spoken with pride. “We have much beautiful wilderness.” “I’m amazed.” I shook my head. “Do you know how many people there are per square mile?” Sarnai’s face twisted in confusion, “I’m not sure what that means. We will have to ask my husband.” She opened the brightly colored door to their ger and allowed me to enter first. “Thank you.” I stepped inside and looked around. A ger is a round, moveable house that is kinda like a sturdy tent. It only takes about an hour to set up and is very useful to the Mongolian’s - many of whom are nomadic. Sarnai’s ger was cozy inside with thick rugs on the floor, a wood burning stove in the middle, beds at one side and across from that, table and chairs. “Your home is lovely.” The furnishings were brightly colored and had so many painted and carved designs I wanted to go around and examine each piece. Batbayar came in just then, bringing my luggage and a woossh of cold air with him. Sarnai talked to him rapidly for a moment in Mongolian and then I heard the words square mile. “Ah, you tourist always ask the same questions.” Batbayar’s eyes twinkled as he took off his big, warm-looking hat and then stoked the fire. “There are only 4.3 people per square mile. Perhaps you’ll like it here enough that you’ll stay?” His smile told me he was teasing, “Then we’d have to raise our average.” Sarnai began working on cutting up some sort of meat. I offered to help her, but she shook her head, “No, no, no. You watch this time and learn.” I nodded. “Now animals?” Batbayar rubbed his hands together over the stove. “There are many of those. Here in our country we have thirteen times more horses and thirty-five times more sheep than humans.” “So many?” I shook my head. I could easily imagine what they did with the sheep, but… “What do you do with all of the horses?” “Many people use them for transportation. We also eat them and drink their milk.” I looked at the food his wife was prepping and willed myself not to get sick to my stomach. When in Rome do as the Romans do… “Horses are very useful. See, our land is so vast that the Netherlands could fit inside it thirty-seven times.” Batbayar spoke with enthusiasm, as if he often shared this information with guests and never grew tired of talking about his beloved country. “That is impressive.” I wasn’t quite sure what that had to do with horses being important, though. “Ah yes, but what is really impressive is that the Mongolian roads could fit into the Dutch road system sixty-seven times.” It took a moment for his words to sink in, “So, that’s why horses are so useful?” “Right, right. Also our camels. We use them for transportation too.” “Camels? Wow.” I rubbed my forehead. I obviously knew basically nothing about other cultures and countries. “I thought camels only lived in hot areas.” “No, no, that’s a common mistake people make. Our camels can live in very cold weather. They have long hair and keep warm.” “Breakfast is ready,” Sarnai informed us, waving us over to the table.
The next four days were more cozy than I could have ever imagined. Batbayar and Sarnai were the perfect hosts and I felt like we became good friends. I learned how to help take care of their sheep, goats, yaks, horses, and camels. I gathered firewood, cooked with Sarnai, watched Batbayar repair his tools, getting them ready for spring planting, and even tried my hand at sewing for Sarnai (that didn’t work out too well, though).
In the evenings we would sit around the wood stove sipping burning hot milk tea and talking. I asked hundreds of questions about their land and culture and they answered with such enthusiasm that at times I forgot to take notes because it was so intriguing. I was especially interested to learn that some of the people kept eagles as pets, and some even went hunting with them. Growing up I had read a handful of medieval books where the nobility went hunting with birds of prey, but I hadn’t realized people still did that nowadays. “Yes, there is even a festival that is called the Golden Eagle festival.” Sarnai stood up to refill my mug of milk tea. “You should come back and visit again for the festival, no?” “Thank you for the tea.” I blew on the steam that floated into the air, “And that sounds like fun. What do they do at the festival?” “It begins with a colorful parade of all the eagle hunters riding through on horseback. They have very special hunting costumes and it is beautiful to look at.” Sarnai sighed in delight, “No Mongolian child has truly lived until they have seen the sight for themselves. My papa used to tell me about it when I was just a wee girl.” “The do competitions and the eagles are judged on how fast they are. The men also take part in traditional games and show off their horsemanship skills,” Batbayar added, “It is grand.” Batbayar was also eager to inform me that Mongolia had a Pony Express style postal service long before the USA ever thought of it. “Kublai Khan established our mail service about a thousand years ago and they could be carried hundreds of miles a day on nonstop horseback,” his words were spoken with pride. “See, you Americans learned from us, no?” “Indeed.” I laughed. “I’m sure we could learn from you in many more ways, as well.” “Such as in eating horse meat?” I cringed slightly, “Well… I’m not sure how well that would go over with my friends.” Batbayar’s deep chuckle made me smile, “But you tried it, you make a good Mongolian.” I beamed at the praise, “Thank you, Batbayar.” All too soon it was Saturday and time for me to head back to Ulaanbaatar so I could get caught up on my blogging and upload my vlogs, talk to my family, and fly out to my next destination on Monday. I was sad to leave.
* * *
Extra: watch this two minute video of a ger being assembled.
January 14, 2016
Staying Focused: Authorish Thoughts
I'm excited to sit down at my writing table this morning wrapped up in a blanket with my candle burning next to me and the world a snowy heaven of beauty outside. The sunrise is only three minutes away and I can see a film of pale pink clouds to the west. I just finished my devotions where I looked up verses on peace, read part of Jeremiah, and worked on memorizing Philippines. It's been a glorious beginning to Thursday.
The list I have on my authorish plate today looks something like this:
- Blog- Research Mongolia - Work on writing the Friday Series post- Work on edits for WLHYL - Possibly finalize what business the Emerson Family will own- Answer emails
I've barely spent any time on writerly things this week because I've been quite busy with my non-writing job. I enjoy my non-writing job, I really, really do. But it can be overwhelming at times to suddenly look up from dashing full-speed-ahead and realize that there are some elements of my writing that I have to do before the week is over and yikes, I haven't done them and it's already Thursday.
I'm working at figuring out how to get the most of my writing time when I do have room in my schedule to work in an author-ish activity. I am far too apt to wander from project to project and create little inroads that are barely visible instead of digging a chuck out of just one assignment.
As you know I've been working at keeping track of how much time I spend on each task I work on. To make it more fun to keep focused (and to make sure I'm keeping up the pace) I decided that for the next several days I'll post a picture of my completed timeline on my Author Facebook page and Twitter. (By the way, you can look at both of those pages, even if you don't have Facebook and Twitter.) That way I'll have y'all keeping me accountable to stay focused and on track.
The world outside is bright and covered with various shades of white and brown now and the woods to the west are bathed in soft-looking sunlight. A new day has officially begun and I'm excited to see what it holds.
* * *
What are some ways you motive yourself to stay on track?
The list I have on my authorish plate today looks something like this:
- Blog- Research Mongolia - Work on writing the Friday Series post- Work on edits for WLHYL - Possibly finalize what business the Emerson Family will own- Answer emails
I've barely spent any time on writerly things this week because I've been quite busy with my non-writing job. I enjoy my non-writing job, I really, really do. But it can be overwhelming at times to suddenly look up from dashing full-speed-ahead and realize that there are some elements of my writing that I have to do before the week is over and yikes, I haven't done them and it's already Thursday.
I'm working at figuring out how to get the most of my writing time when I do have room in my schedule to work in an author-ish activity. I am far too apt to wander from project to project and create little inroads that are barely visible instead of digging a chuck out of just one assignment.
As you know I've been working at keeping track of how much time I spend on each task I work on. To make it more fun to keep focused (and to make sure I'm keeping up the pace) I decided that for the next several days I'll post a picture of my completed timeline on my Author Facebook page and Twitter. (By the way, you can look at both of those pages, even if you don't have Facebook and Twitter.) That way I'll have y'all keeping me accountable to stay focused and on track.
The world outside is bright and covered with various shades of white and brown now and the woods to the west are bathed in soft-looking sunlight. A new day has officially begun and I'm excited to see what it holds.
* * *
What are some ways you motive yourself to stay on track?
January 13, 2016
More Thoughts About Peace
I hadn't planned on having my word of the week be the same for two weeks in a row, but peace is something that means so much to me and there were still so many verses to explore that used that word, so it ended up happening.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ~Matthew 5:9
Recently I've been working on trying to add peace to my family and co-workers instead of adding to problems when they arise. I'm not sure if anyone notices yet (cause I obviously don't always succeed), but I can tell there's a difference because there's a lot of times when I am staying quiet instead of joining in to a conversation.
For let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. ~1 Peter 3:10-11
I've been discovering that peace doesn't always come naturally; it's something that needs to be actively sought and worked for. It's worth it though.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you haves been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ~ Ephesians 4:1-3
These verses remind me of a parent calling their children together and begging them to work at getting along, then telling them the steps to get there. We're supposed to have humility, gentleness, patience, showing love, and living in unity with a bond of peace helping to hold us together. At first that seems a bit overwhelming, but with God's help nothing is impossible, even if it is quite hard.
I'm encouraged and challenged by these verses and I hope you are, too.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ~Matthew 5:9
Recently I've been working on trying to add peace to my family and co-workers instead of adding to problems when they arise. I'm not sure if anyone notices yet (cause I obviously don't always succeed), but I can tell there's a difference because there's a lot of times when I am staying quiet instead of joining in to a conversation.
For let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. ~1 Peter 3:10-11
I've been discovering that peace doesn't always come naturally; it's something that needs to be actively sought and worked for. It's worth it though.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you haves been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ~ Ephesians 4:1-3
These verses remind me of a parent calling their children together and begging them to work at getting along, then telling them the steps to get there. We're supposed to have humility, gentleness, patience, showing love, and living in unity with a bond of peace helping to hold us together. At first that seems a bit overwhelming, but with God's help nothing is impossible, even if it is quite hard.
I'm encouraged and challenged by these verses and I hope you are, too.
January 12, 2016
The Importance of Words: Author Thoughts
Having a large vocabulary is important, especially if you want to be a writer. Although my vocabulary is no where close to where I want it to be, I do know a lot of words that aren't used by most people on a day-to-day basis. These words seemingly flow out of my fingers while I'm typing. Words like eminence, consternation, corpulent, vehement, bolstered, vendetta, utmost, and immensely pepper the pages of my stories, keeping repetitiveness at bay.
My mind also works fairly fast while coming up with the definition to a word while playing a game. Take Blurt! for instance. In Blurt! someone reads a question such as "What is an event that comes once a year called?" and the first person to blurt out the answer ("Annual!") gets a point. We played it last night and it was incredibly enjoyable.
So, in writing and games I have a good grasp the English language, but then comes this thing called speaking. I'm not sure about where you live, but in our household and at my job it's a common and important part of life.
Yesterday my mom said she was thinking of writing a book about having a daughter who was an author. That was after I tried to explain what I'd been doing and I said something to the effect of:
"I spent an hour getting some cleanness done." Then I stopped and shook my head, confused because the words had not come out the correct way. Another time a few months ago I was explaining to a friend that if she needed another jacket she could use one of mine, but instead the words came out in an interesting manner. "If you need more jacketed, I have some in the closest." Hum... Real descriptive and impressive.
You probably can't tell from this picture, but I'm sitting here blogging and watching it snow. Oh, beautiful snow!Then there are words in my vocabulary that I can figure out how to spell and I know their meaning, but I have no clue how to pronounce them.
Or words that I use correctly in a sentence but if someone asked me to define it I would give them a wild-eyed look as I conduct an internet search on my phone.
Then of course come the words that I think I know the right meaning, but after I write them down I start doubting myself. Take conduct for example. As soon as I wrote that my brain sent out a soft warning bell and said Check that out, please. So, I looked it up and according to the second definition in my dictionary it does indeed fit my sentence.
Often times when I'm writing (or even speaking) I can think of a vague definition to what I'm trying to communicate, but the "perfect" word isn't coming to mind. That's why I think of a thesaurus as one of my most important tools. I use a thesaurus all. the. time. In fact, this is probably one of the first posts in months that I haven't used a thesaurus, and that's because I wanted to see what words I could come up with unassisted.
One of my biggest nemeses when it comes to English words is trying to spell them. They're downright difficult at times. It's as if they gathered together and cackled uproariously as each word chose how it would be spelled and how many "rules" it would break. Not cool.
I could go on, but I'll be late for my non-writing job if I do, so I guess I'll end with each of you imagining a board meeting of ornery words drinking iced tea and munching on nuts as they write their names in the dictionary.
* * *What about you? What is your biggest strength in the English language? What about your biggest weakness?
My mind also works fairly fast while coming up with the definition to a word while playing a game. Take Blurt! for instance. In Blurt! someone reads a question such as "What is an event that comes once a year called?" and the first person to blurt out the answer ("Annual!") gets a point. We played it last night and it was incredibly enjoyable.
So, in writing and games I have a good grasp the English language, but then comes this thing called speaking. I'm not sure about where you live, but in our household and at my job it's a common and important part of life.
Yesterday my mom said she was thinking of writing a book about having a daughter who was an author. That was after I tried to explain what I'd been doing and I said something to the effect of:
"I spent an hour getting some cleanness done." Then I stopped and shook my head, confused because the words had not come out the correct way. Another time a few months ago I was explaining to a friend that if she needed another jacket she could use one of mine, but instead the words came out in an interesting manner. "If you need more jacketed, I have some in the closest." Hum... Real descriptive and impressive.
You probably can't tell from this picture, but I'm sitting here blogging and watching it snow. Oh, beautiful snow!Then there are words in my vocabulary that I can figure out how to spell and I know their meaning, but I have no clue how to pronounce them. Or words that I use correctly in a sentence but if someone asked me to define it I would give them a wild-eyed look as I conduct an internet search on my phone.
Then of course come the words that I think I know the right meaning, but after I write them down I start doubting myself. Take conduct for example. As soon as I wrote that my brain sent out a soft warning bell and said Check that out, please. So, I looked it up and according to the second definition in my dictionary it does indeed fit my sentence.
Often times when I'm writing (or even speaking) I can think of a vague definition to what I'm trying to communicate, but the "perfect" word isn't coming to mind. That's why I think of a thesaurus as one of my most important tools. I use a thesaurus all. the. time. In fact, this is probably one of the first posts in months that I haven't used a thesaurus, and that's because I wanted to see what words I could come up with unassisted.
One of my biggest nemeses when it comes to English words is trying to spell them. They're downright difficult at times. It's as if they gathered together and cackled uproariously as each word chose how it would be spelled and how many "rules" it would break. Not cool.
I could go on, but I'll be late for my non-writing job if I do, so I guess I'll end with each of you imagining a board meeting of ornery words drinking iced tea and munching on nuts as they write their names in the dictionary.
* * *What about you? What is your biggest strength in the English language? What about your biggest weakness?
January 11, 2016
Reminiscing about Africa and Friday Series Destination Announced
A year ago yesterday I left for a two week trip in Ghana, West Africa. I'm in a reminiscing mood, so I decided to post some photos of my time there. There are so many memories wrapped up in each one of these snapshots.
The landscape was so colorless and the people so colorful and together it made a beautiful picture. I was privileged to attend a wedding out in one of the small villages and even though it felt unmercifully hot to my winter-accustomed body, I am so glad I could go. It was unlike any wedding I had been at before then and probably unlike any wedding I'll ever go to again.
The people in Ghana are so friendly and welcoming and enthusiastic. These are all friends of the family I went to visit and they thought it was great when I flipped my iPhone camera around so they could see themselves in it.
This girl (below) lived with the family I was staying with and she cooked us very delicious Ghanian meals. There were times when the food didn't quite mesh with my tastebuds, but I was still happy to get to experience eating their authentic foods and was thankful for her cooking skills. She was quite friendly and took us around the marketplace and explained the culture to us.
Another picture from the wedding I attended. Behind the men (they are the groom, his dad, best man, friends, and drummers), you can see their compound. Each family has a circle of huts that are inclosed with a wall going from hut to hut. The huts, and all the enclosed area, make up their house. It's pretty cool.
The termite mounds were huge. I seriously had no clue that they would be so big and probably gasped in amazement the first time I saw one. Then, of course I wanted to climb one. (I had no clue you were able to do that, either.) I only made it part way up, because the further I climbed the less thick the mound was and I didn't want to break though and damage the mound or break though and have the termites swarm around me. (Do they even do that? I have no clue. But goodness! If they can build a structor like that, I'm not too keen on getting on their bad side.)
* * *
What about you? Did you know that termite mounds got so big? Have you ever climbed one? If not, would you climb one if you had the chance?
* * *
I'm so excited to have just found out where I'm going this week for my Friday Series! Drumroll, please! Our destination is: Mongolia! I can hardly wait to head on over there. :)
The landscape was so colorless and the people so colorful and together it made a beautiful picture. I was privileged to attend a wedding out in one of the small villages and even though it felt unmercifully hot to my winter-accustomed body, I am so glad I could go. It was unlike any wedding I had been at before then and probably unlike any wedding I'll ever go to again.
The people in Ghana are so friendly and welcoming and enthusiastic. These are all friends of the family I went to visit and they thought it was great when I flipped my iPhone camera around so they could see themselves in it.
This girl (below) lived with the family I was staying with and she cooked us very delicious Ghanian meals. There were times when the food didn't quite mesh with my tastebuds, but I was still happy to get to experience eating their authentic foods and was thankful for her cooking skills. She was quite friendly and took us around the marketplace and explained the culture to us.
Another picture from the wedding I attended. Behind the men (they are the groom, his dad, best man, friends, and drummers), you can see their compound. Each family has a circle of huts that are inclosed with a wall going from hut to hut. The huts, and all the enclosed area, make up their house. It's pretty cool.
The termite mounds were huge. I seriously had no clue that they would be so big and probably gasped in amazement the first time I saw one. Then, of course I wanted to climb one. (I had no clue you were able to do that, either.) I only made it part way up, because the further I climbed the less thick the mound was and I didn't want to break though and damage the mound or break though and have the termites swarm around me. (Do they even do that? I have no clue. But goodness! If they can build a structor like that, I'm not too keen on getting on their bad side.)
* * *
What about you? Did you know that termite mounds got so big? Have you ever climbed one? If not, would you climb one if you had the chance?
* * *
I'm so excited to have just found out where I'm going this week for my Friday Series! Drumroll, please! Our destination is: Mongolia! I can hardly wait to head on over there. :)
