To My Dad (and my Mom) (and my husband)

My dad is having some outpatient surgery done today.  So, my thoughts are with him.  I'm wishing I could be there with him.  I'm wishing I could be there with my mom and dad and help them like they have helped me so many times over the years.  But my own family needs me as well.  Unfortunately, we can only do so much at one time.  It's just a matter of picking what exactly it is we do with that time.

I would like to pay tribute to my parents in regards to that.  They have taught me, especially by example, how to make good use of time.  They have shown me that we should always be engaged in a good cause. Neither of my parents are shrinking violets.  They are both talented, intelligent people who have put their energies over the years into many good endeavors.

They and my husband have taught me to believe in myself, and that if I put my mind to it I can accomplish much with the time I have been given.  If it weren't for the three of them I wouldn't be writing a book.  I might still be penning a short story here or there, but I wouldn't have taken on the monumental task of writing a book.

So, thank you, the three of you, for helping me have the desire and gumption to write.  It makes all the difference.

Writing Perks

Can I just say I love my job?  I'm writing a magazine article about a bakery in our town.  They are a regional bakery, providing products to our state and three other surrounding states.  Along with their own bread labels, local grocery stores and even national brands contract with them to make their bread.

I got to tag along on a tour today (with a group of first graders) to see the operation.  It's quite fascinating.  Conveyor belts are EVERYWHERE!  They are like model trains circling overhead and beside you and in circular carousels.  Bread products move from machine to machine on conveyor belts, but they also need to cool once they are baked before they can be sliced, if needed, and bagged.  They travel all around the plant for an hour just so they can cool.

Now, here's the best part.  When the tour is done everyone gets a freshly baked (just this morning) loaf of Cinnabon bread!  YUM!

While not every article I have done relates to food - far from it, I have enjoyed those that have.  There was the restaurant review where I was given samples of probably a dozen dishes and, of course, the ice cream store where I just had to sample probably a dozen different flavors.  I believe I have "lamented" these articles before, but the power of the pen on the author's side of things continues to amaze me.  I really do love this job.

Memorial Day

I must admit Memorial Day, to me, is usually about the picnic.  But this year is a little different.  I was asked to write an article for Memorial Day for our community.  I interviewed someone from the local VFW (Veteran's of Foreign Wars), read some local histories, checked out our local Veteran's Memorial and actually sorted through headstones from the two city cemeteries.

What I learned covered a lot more than what ended up in my article.  I'm guessing you're thinking I'm going to talk about my appreciation for those who have gone to war to defend my freedoms.  I am grateful for them, but I already felt that way.  What was new to me started with something different.  I live in Ohio, but I grew up in the West.  So, it was unusual for me to find grave markers for those who fought in the Civil War.

One hundred and fifty years ago the Civil War was raging.  And people who grew up in my little town jumped in to fight.  Many didn't even think twice, just signed up as soon as the word went out.  They left families and girlfriends and wives behind.

There was a story of one soldier named Henry from our town who got lost on a scouting mission in the deep South.  Hungry, he came across a cow, tied it to a tree and began to milk it into his mess kit.  A confederate soldier came upon him, and attempted to take him prisoner.  Henry responded by asking for help accomplishing the task at hand.  Together they milked the cow, soaked hard tack in it and drank up.  In the end, the Confederate soldier gave Henry directions back to his Union lines.  (See Pioneers with Web Feet, pg. 43, by Nelson P. Bard)

I've never taken much to history in the sense of memorizing dates and places, but I appreciate learning about people and the lives they led.  They may have lived in a different time, but they become real to me because of their personal experiences.  They are just like you and me in so many ways.

Understanding that those who gave their lives to defend my country's freedom were individual people with likes and dislikes, with interesting personalities, not just names with birthdates, makes their sacrifice profound to me.  I respect those who fought, both in modern times and before.

This year memorial day really is a time to remember - to remember the individual people who impacted all of our lives.

1st grade story writing

Once a week I help out in my first grader's classroom.  I enjoy getting to know the kids and learning what they capable of.  This week I was helping with some year end writing assessments.  First grade has sure come a long way.

The kids were given a prompt and told to write a story.  They had a page for their pre-writing where they could list their characters, the setting, the problem their characters faced and then how that problem was resolved.

The first time I remember any story writing in school was fifth grade.  Those of us that were interested in writing short stories met in the library after school to learn more about it.  I don't even remember learning anything specific from that time.  I'm pretty certain that we didn't learn in fifth grade then what first graders are taught now.

This is just one area where I've observed when we don't put limits on our kids they are capable of amazing things.  It is fun to read my son's and his classmates' stories.  I am at times jealous of the education they are getting and what I didn't, but mostly I just think it's pretty impressive what our kids can do and who they are becoming.

Interesting Use of Adjectives

Adjectives are powerful weapons in the writer's arsenal.  This is not a revelation.  Adjectives bring a sunset to life or describe a smell such that you want to taste its source or run the other direction.  These are the typical uses of adjectives.  Used well, they make something ordinary extraordinary.

But what about unusual uses?  If you refer to a "polite teenager" or a "patient toddler" you are either making it clear this is a work of fiction, this is an amazing child or you are being rather sarcastic.  How delightful that a single word can carry so much meaning.

The above examples are oxymorons, but there are other ways a single adjective can convey a unique meaning.  Think about a "talkative apple" or a "marble stare."  What image comes to mind with a "withered porch" or the "luminescent sparrow"?  I like the thoughts of a "cranky Cadillac" and an "impatient piano."  Does it pique your curiosity to know how a piano could be impatient?  Or maybe you've already thought of a few ways.

Whatever your thinking, hopefully you'll leave this blog and have a delicious day.

Computer Scientist/Writer

I have to admit that here I am devoting my time to writing, but that is not what I studied in school.  It feels like a disadvantage at times, needing to learn my craft on my own.  And if I had things to do over again, who knows if I would have done it differently.

What I did study was computer science.  But when I think about it, that training is actually helpful when crafting a novel.  Let me explain.

When writing a program you have several things you need to keep in mind.  First, you need to declare variables.  In a novel you have to introduce characters. Some of them are not revealed to the reader until later in the novel, but the author has to have figured them into the whole equation right from the start.  Many computer variables may not be used until later on, but they have to be initiated up front.

Another consideration in a structured programming language is that for every begin you need an end.  Nothing annoys me more as a reader than an author who doesn't tie up loose ends.  As an author the trick is keeping track of all the loose ends so you make sure to tie them up, much like the diligence needed when programming.

In programming, you often make function calls, meaning the function is written somewhere else and then called or used when needed.  The equivalent in novels would be the flashback.

I could obviously go on.  The bottom line is this: maybe I didn't receive training in writing, but that doesn't mean I didn't receive training for what I'm doing.  I just have to be a little creative in my thinking to see how it applies.

Potato Salad

I love summertime barbeques with all the fixings, including potato salad.  And it seems everyone makes potato salad their own way.  The only kind I don't like is the store bought variety, other than that I love them in all their forms.

Making potato salad over the years we have noticed that it is better made ahead of time so the flavors can truly marry.  Nothing like a few hours of sitting to bring out the best in all the ingredients.

I think the same is true of good writing.  That's why we rarely publish first drafts.  With time, our characters percolate in our minds.  They take shape or even change shape.  Their motives and histories become apparent in our imaginations.  And it's not so much that we create these things as it is that they reveal themselves.  It can just take time for these things to come out of hiding.

It can be hard to be patient.  When I am writing fast and furiously on a book, I want to keep going until I finish.  But my characters have a different idea.  They want to enjoy the ride, and even rest from time to time.  My characters drive me on, but they also put on the brakes from time to time, reminding me to stop and let their "flavors" mature and come together.

It may be hard to be patient, but it is usually worth the wait.