Kate Ristau's Blog, page 49

Shadowgirl edits

I just finished the second round of edits on Shadowgirl! I am feeling anxious and excited about the release of this book. I started it in 2009 after I had just left the Folklore program at University of Oregon. I was inspired by the Celtic folklore I had begun exploring in Diane Dugaw’s classroom. It led me down a path of myth and magic that I can’t wait to share with everyone!

Rewriting Christmas Carols

Happy Holidays, my friends! Here are some revised Christmas Carols that will get you back to your own words during this special time of year:

Joy to the Word (OR: Joy to the MS Word)
Deck the Ballpoint (Falalalalalalalala)
What Style is this (Seriously. Why am I writing like Dickens?)
Silent Night (This one needs no revision. Every writer needs a Silent Night — to write or to recharge for an early morning. When all is calm, all is write. And yes, I went there.)

Any other writerly revisions? Post in the comments!

 

 

Writing while sleepy

The pleasures of daylight savings time…I slept in late today and my toddler did too. Still, we struggled to get to bed at a decent hour (meaning: leaving me conscious enough to sit down and write).

Nevertheless, I am conscious. My hands are moving, fingers typing. I sit in front of the computer, eyes glazing over, writing words that are too lyrical; they’re not moving forward. There is no story.

Time and clocks — my mortal enemies — you win this round.

Or maybe I do.

Sleep is mine.

Shadowgirl

I just signed a contract with Lycaon Press to publish my YA novel, Shadowgirl! I’ve been working on this fairy tale (with literal fairies) since I was in the folklore program at UO. It’s full of magic and myth, friendship and despair, and the powerful story of two girls who try to prevent the destruction of both their worlds. I’m looking forward to sharing their story with you.

Much more coming soon!

Unplug and jog for 30 minutes

For 36 days straight, I have jogged for 30 minutes. Well, I really should use the proper terminology: I’ve been slogging. It’s like sluggish jogging. I’ve basically just been trying to keep bending my knees for 30 minutes every day. As if that wasn’t hard enough, I also layered on another level. I had to unplug, untether, and jog unaided by technology.

But what about music?

Nope.

What about that Nike Fit?

Nope.

What about a flashlight?

Okay, but only because the sun is being seasonally destroyed thanks to gravity, climate change, the moon, or something.

You’re probably wondering if, after watching the sun cyclically decimated for the last 36 days, I have learned anything. Maybe you’re wondering if my approach to health, running, or seasonal allergies has been dramatically transformed.

Nope.

It’s still hard. Every day I go out and the first 15 minutes is achy and the second 10 is boring and the last 5 is oh my God am I done slogging yet?

But I’ve kept on slogging. Sure, there’s many people who can walk faster than I slog. And most people would have lost their weight in cookies by now. Except me. I haven’t lost any weight in cookies because I’ve made sure to replace any calories burned with cookies.

Honestly, my right knee is a little crunchy, but the rest of my body is surprisingly okay with it – mostly because of the cookies. I have really enjoyed those cookies. Mostly because I earned them (see? Health philosophy remains untransformed).

Jogging unplugged, though, that has had a ridiculously positive impact: it has definitely helped my creativity. I’m not even going to wax poetic or sound smart about it (the seasons thing has to do with the equator, right?). I’m just going to say that having that time to let my mind wander has been awesome. It’s not like I’m having light bulb moments, but the writing itself has been a lot easier, faster, and way more productive.

Beyond all that, though, here’s the best part: we went to the beach yesterday. Rowan and I played all morning, and then we went and ate lunch. Normally, this is when we would pack up and leave. Instead, I asked him: “Do you want to go play in the ocean again?” His little face focused in on mine intently. “Yes,” he said. “The ocean misses me.”

So, even though most days I would be wiped out from a morning at the beach, we went back and had an amazing afternoon kicking the beach ball into the ocean (over and over and over again).

Maybe there have been some physical changes. I’m not sure; I’m not going to start counting the miles yet. But, if anything good has come of it, there’s always this: the ocean is less lonely (which should help with that seasons thing).

Waiting for an audience

People keep asking, and I keep answering:

“How’s your writing going?”

“Great,” I say. “I’m still writing!”

From the outside, they can’t yet see the progress. They see me on my laptop and assume I’m trolling Facebook. They see Rowan in school, and they wonder what I do with my time. They’ve seen one self-published book, but nothing else coming down the line. They think it’s just a hobby, a flirtation. They think it’s not working.

“Really, Kate, how is the writing?”

The writing is great. The writing is intense. The writing gets better every day. The writing is not the struggle for me.

The struggle is the audience. The struggle is the readers. The struggle is sharing my work with the world. The struggle is waiting for the next step. Waiting for the agent. The publisher. The editor. Waiting for the audience.

That’s the thing they don’t tell you. When you get past the writing block, when you put in the time, when you write every day, when you watch the work get better, when you finish that first novel — the next step isn’t publishing. The next step is waiting. Soul-sucking, mind-numbing waiting. It’s like watching an Internet video of a cat bounding after a feather. Yes, that shit is awesome, but can it just have the feather? Is it too much to ask?

Well, now I’m just complaining, and that’s not the point. The Internet has enough of that. I’ve got work to do; words to write and books to read.

So, how the writing? It’s great. The waiting, though, that sucks.

DUNE

Bob asked me how Dune compared to other sci-fi novels I have read. How did it stand next to Zelazny? That question caught me for a moment. I loved the Chronicles of Amber. Zelazny pulled me in deeper and deeper with every shift between shadows.

But Dune was different. Dune didn’t just pull me in (yes, I rolled through it in a couple of days, unable to put it down), it also pushed me out. It made me look at the world differently than before.

Herbert’s exploration of religion and ecology in an interstellar future is both compelling and foreboding. Ack! It even makes me slip in to academic-ease. Sorry! I can’t help it!

It was so freaking good. And not because of the sandworms and space. I could give a crap less about sandworms. Herbert had me with the way he built up the life of a messiah and the prophecies surrounding his coming of age. I was head over heels with how he was always a step ahead of the reader, laying out plots that intricately linked back to earlier reveals. Clever stuff.

All of that story-building is amplified by the basic question: what would life on a desert planet be like? How would it change the way you lived?

It makes me take a second and look around. How does where I live impact the way I live? I have some thoughts on this. But first, what do you think? How has place impacted your life? Shoot out a comment below.

Tips on brewing a full flavored French press

It’s the perfect day. You just made a cup of French press coffee, you have the newspaper in hand, and you’re sitting down in your favorite chair with a warm slice of delicious seeded whole wheat bread you made overnight. You bite into the bread – it is soft and delicious. You take a sip of your coffee and you suddenly cough, nearly spitting it across the room. You swallow it down and take another quick bite of bread, wondering what went wrong.

Why does your coffee always taste so bitter? You’ve read all the directions.Why does it seem to stand up on its own?

Don’t worry; I’m here to help. Read on for some tips and tricks for brewing a better French press. Once you’ve made your way through these tips, head on over here to review step-by-step instructions on how to brew your perfect French press. First, though, those brewing tips:

Buy Fresh Beans (Preferably African)

There’s nothing worse than taking the time to brew a French press only to discover that your coffee tastes flat, or worse, like tofu. The key to a quality cup is in the beans. Buy your beans whole and grind them yourself (more on that later). Ideally, you’ll find those beans at a local roaster. In reality, there will be times when you buy your beans at the grocery store. If you do, always choose vacuum packed beans over the big bins of coffee. Those beans may have been sitting out for weeks, which means that their oils have been releasing and their flavors have been fading, too.

If you’re going to the trouble of buying fresh, whole beans, I’d also suggest you try an African coffee, like Ethiopian or Kenyan. Coffees from these regions have bold, deep, and delicious berry flavors. These flavors are like a fine wine and are particularly noticeable in a French press; they will make your extra effort worth the time. If you’re in Portland, like me, head over to Case Study Coffee for a bag of their Ethiopian Yergacheffe Konga. You won’t regret it.

Once you have your vacuum packed (or locally roasted) Ethiopian beans, bring them home and get brewing. Remember, after you make your first press, put the remaining beans in a sealed container. No need to put them in the fridge or the freezer. They might take on some funky flavors in there (and no one wants Teriyaki coffee).

Grind the beans yourself

You have the beans, now you have to grind them. You should grind your beans fresh each time you make a French press. Then, you’ll get the full flavor out of each bean. If you have the money to spend, a burr grinder is the best way to go. It grinds your coffee more consistently. A blade grinder chops it up into little uneven bits, which can make for a bitter cup that’s full of grinds. A little sediment is fine at the bottom of your cup, but sludge is not. Go for the burr grinder. If you’re having trouble finding the right one, see this post:

Good Question: Best Burr Grinders Under $100

Whichever grinder you choose, you should aim for grounds that have the consistency of rough sand. If you want to get really detailed, take out a dime. Look at the E in LIBERTY. One of your coffee chunks should be about that size. Finding the right grind is an important step. If you grind is too coarse, your coffee will be too weak. If it is too fine, your coffee will be too bitter. If it tastes like teriyaki, well, don’t put your coffee in the freezer.

The coffee ratio is definitely up for debate due to the depth of the roast or the quality of the bean. But 8 tablespoons of coffee for an 8 cup French press is a good starting point. You’ll have to experiment from there to see what works for you.

Use the right water temperature

The ideal coffee brewing temperature is 30 seconds off the boil (about 205 degrees F). That 30 seconds gives you just enough time to pour water into your French press to warm it up. This is an important step – your water will lose several degrees and your coffee will extract unevenly if you pour it into a cold French press. While you’re at it, warm up your mug, too. Your coffee will stay hot longer and you will be happier in your Saturday chair when you finally have your cup full of goodness.

Let your coffee bloom

One of the most important steps in the brewing of a French press is to let the coffee bloom. The bloom is that wonderful moment when the hot water first hits your coffee grounds and the oils and flavors bloom out of the coffee, like a bud opening in the spring. Don’t underestimate this moment. Here’s the best way to achieve a full bloom: pour hot water over your grounds, about halfway to the top, and start a 4-minute timer. After one minute, you will see the top layer of your coffee has started to pull in a lighter brown color. Swirl that top layer gently and take a deep whiff of your coffee. Then, fill your French press up the rest of the way with water, and put your lid on. In three more minutes, you can plunge for the perfect cup.

Use a thermos

One last tip – don’t let your coffee sit in that French press; it will continue to extract and turn bitter. Pour your coffee into your cup, and if you have any leftover, put it in a thermos or travel mug. Then, the flavor you worked for will last.

You’ve finally made the perfect French press! Now, sit back in your chair, relax, and enjoy that full flavored cup of coffee and your slice of warm bread. Cheers to a perfect day.

————————

And Then I found them

I was slogging myself up to my writing desk.

Tired, hungry, but

impatient to begin again, to unspool the story.

My mind, taut, battling my body.

Fighting the urge to move into the chair,

I heard the sweet siren song of the sheets.

The day seemed lost.

And then:

I found them.

Dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

 

No more can be said. My mouth is full. Today’s writing session is dedicated to Bob’s friend who left them behind.

The Buzz on the Giving Tree

In case you want to know more about them apples…I wrote this!

Click the link for five things you didn’t know about The Giving Tree:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kateristau/5-things-you-did-not-know-about-the-giving-tree-u02x