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Regency Romance and a Sailing Ship...

9/30/2018

I'd wanted to write Captain Ben's story shortly after starting my debut novel. Safe In The Earl's Arms begins with two brothers on a ship, arguing about who has to go to shore to investigate why a woman wishes to speak to the captain. Captain Benjamin explains to older brother, the Earl, that on land an earl outranks a captain, but on the ship, the captain is the ranking person. Either he goes to see what the woman wants, or he goes overboard to see what the woman wants and his crew will back him up.

For a free read of the first few chapters of the Captain's story from Google Books, please click below.

A Captain and A Rogue

Nature's Plot Twist

9/29/2018

     Didn't the bee realize the pollen was going to be there for awhile? He was digging in, grabbing so much pollen that when he took off, he dusted the air. Another bee flew away, and again the flakes of pollen fell from his body.
     I'd never seen anything like it. The bees seemed greedy, working as rapidly as they could to get as much pollen as they could. I watched as one flew up and then headed for the woods. I wondered how far he was taking the pollen, and how much of his energy he would use getting the supplies back home.
     I expected he'd done the same thing all day.
     Then, plot twist! Later, clouds rolled in an a light rain started. I imagined all of the pollen being washed off the thistle.
    I should have realized what was going to happen, but I hadn't. Like a reader in a good book, I didn't see what the characters may have knew, or expected, or what may have been just as much of a surprise to him as it was to me.
    Plot twists aren't as much fun in real life as they are in stories, but they can keep a reader enthralled.
    Happy reading, and Happy writing.

Photo: Bee on thistle garden behind my house.

Battered Butterfly In My World

9/26/2018

This butterfly was still able to glide and fly. It always makes me feel proud of the survivors who have triumphed over difficult times.

Five Hacks for Writing Creativity

9/15/2018

1. A Dear Johnnie letter. When the creativity is over, it's time to tell it goodbye. So start an email to your dearest friend, telling her what the outline of the story is, what you've been writing, and where you've gotten stuck. The answer may pop into your head as you write about the problem. Then delete!

2. Too tired to conspire. Native Americans supposedly sometimes stayed up well past their bedtimes to let their minds roam and have answers to their questions. When we stay awake well into the night, and become too tired to really think, our brains can go on outrageous rambles. While this is not for everyone...perhaps a bit of it might work for your plotting.

3. Fifteen minutes on a treadmill. Don't overdo it. Movement helps creativity. See if it works for you. But again, take it easy. You can do too much of a good thing. I suppose if you added 2. and 3. together, you could get to bed earlier.

4. The Green Eggs Theory. Write at the park, in a car, at the library, in the yard. Anywhere there is an outlet or your batteries work...just leave your usual space and find somewhere new. If it's at the library, you will be telling your brain to get busy. You didn't leave the house just to waste a few hours staring at a keyboard.

5. Directionally Challenged Creativity. Go the opposite direction in your story. If you were planning for a hero to kill the bad guy...have him save the bad guy's life. At least first. Then...whatever...

6. (An extra one in case you really don't like one of the above.) What the Dickens? A mirror. Put a mirror in your workspace as Charles Dickens did. Then you can move your hand, wave and arm, and you'll have those motions played out in front of you to describe.

Happy Writing!

Photos From My World

9/8/2018

Horse Art to Amaze

9/1/2018

I liked the horses. I really did. They did seem like art to me. Driftwood art at first, but still fascinating. That was before I knew they were bronze. Deborah Butterfield is an artist, who if I were to guess, loves horses.

I wouldn't have known they weren't wooden if I hadn't been told. I looked closer, and could hardly believe what I saw.

The artist assembles the horses out of tree limbs, then takes the horses apart and casts the wood in bronze and reassembles.

Amazing...