Greetings from Camp . . .

. . . .Camp NaNo, that is! Yes, I'm off to Camp NaNo for the second year in a row. Okay, I'm not actually going anywhere - in fact, Camp NaNo looks an awful lot like my office - but my mind will be taking me on a journey into some dark woods where some really scary people hang out. Don't worry, some good guys will be there, too. And so will some people who aren't quite sure on which side of the line they fall. Should make for some interesting talks around the campfire.

Honestly, it feels more like one of those Wilderness Experience kind of things, where they drop you in the middle of nowhere with a shoe horn, some scotch tape and a bottle of water and you have to not only survive but come out stronger in the end. Okay, that's an extreme metaphor but I do feel a little lost. I'm taking this manuscript to a conference in the fall and I want it to be strong and full of all kinds of good stuff. It doesn't have to be all pretty and polished. In fact, it shouldn't be - because this is a conference on craft and, by the end of it, this manuscript should be - will be! - deeper, darker, more layered and just plain old better.

Any suggestions or tips on surviving this month? Anyone else going to Camp NaNo, too? Maybe we can share s'mores and tell ghost stories around the campfire. But, just so you know, if a bear or a wolf or a zombie show up, you're on your own.

Motivational Monday

LIFE IS LIKE RIDING A BICYCLE.

TO KEEP YOUR BALANCE, 
YOU MUST KEEP MOVING.

(Albert Einstein)

I don't do well with balance - on my bike or otherwise. I tended to be all or nothing, one extreme to the other. I've gotten better at it over the years . . . until I realized being "balanced" made me feel sort of bland. I was neither here nor there; I was in limbo. 

The problem was that I was using other people's definition of "balance" and not my own - I "should" spend this much time at work and this much time with family and this much time doing this or that or the other thing. All that did was make me feel like I was never doing enough. I felt like all of my oomph was chained up inside of me and only allowed outside for a few minutes and then could only go in a certain direction. That's not balanced; that's miserable.

So, I realized that if I want to write on a day most people have off of work, like today, that's okay. If my husband wants to go into the office and get some stuff done while the phones aren't ringing, that's okay, too. If I throw myself into a writing marathon session one day, it's okay if I throw myself into reading a good book the next. My husband and I have set up our lives (as much as you can control these kinds of things) that way. That's our balance. That's my balance. 

What's yours?

Versatile? Me?

Really, "versatile" is not the first word that comes to mind when describing myself. My husband almost choked on his waffles when I told him my new blogging pal, Laurita over at Calling Shotgun, gave me The Versatile Blogger Award. I explained how it wasn't about me having a versatile personality but more about my versatile blogging nature. That's my story, anyway.

So, since no one seems to remember what the original rules and such were for this award, I'm just going to go ahead and answer the same six questions Laurita did . . .

    
1. What's the last sentence (from any of your work) that made you feel pride in writing? 

The boy bends toward her, nudging down her arm. His shoulder blades — fragile as moth wings — twitch under his t-shirt. I want to touch them, feel the bones knit beneath his skin. My own stick out just like his, yet I’m on my way out of this world and he’s on his way in. 

These are from "Back Roads" and something about them stays with me. They're the first ones I thought of when reading this question.

2. What’s the last work of fiction that left you envying the creator? In what way did you envy he/she/it/them?

Instead of naming a specific title, I'm going with all of my favorite books, the ones that live on my bookshelves. They moved me - made me laugh, cry, want to throw the book across the room because I hated the villain so much, etc.- and that's what I want to do with my writing. I'm envious that they're all already doing that . . . .

3. In your entire life, what have you most catastrophically failed at cooking or baking?

Baking. It was the first time I made ricotta pie for my husband to bring to an office party. We were young and newly married and it was a big deal. To me, anyway. I felt all housewife-y. I got the two pack of frozen pie crusts (all you bakers out there can just shush - don't judge me) and I made my mix, poured it into the crusts, etc. My husband comes home the next day and tells me as gently as possible - good and smart man that he is - that I had forgotten to take the paper separating one tin from the other, so one of the pies basically had a paper film between the filling and the crust. I. Was. Mortified. (Everyone at the office was very nice about it but even now, as I'm typing it, I. Am. Mortified.)

4. What field of science most frequently inspires you?

Marine biology. Sea turtles, manatees, dolphins, and all the mysteries in the dark depths of the world's seas. I get chills just thinking about it.

5. What task most recently frightened, grossed you out or otherwise intimidated you, such that you got someone else to do it?

The first time we had a rat in the attic of our old house. Ugh. I still can't talk about it. I'd rather talk about the ricotta pie incident (see Questions #3.)
 

6. Who is your favorite dead author? Or, if there is no single such person, name six of your beloved dead authors (in no necessary order).

Two off the top of my head - Betty Smith and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I don't like to think about the fact that at some point, my favorite living authors won't be around any longer either. Then what will I read?! 

*****

I'm not going to pass this award on to anyone specific - if you'd like to answer any of the questions, go ahead and do so in the comments. Or just consider yourself awarded and answer them in your own post. Either way. We are awfully versatile, aren't we?

Motivational Monday

KEEP AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO TRY 
TO BELITTLE YOUR AMBITIONS.

SMALL PEOPLE ALWAYS DO THAT, 
BUT THE REALLY GREAT MAKE YOU FEEL THAT YOU, TOO, CAN BECOME GREAT.

(Mark Twain)

  

I am truly grateful to have one of those great people in my life. My husband has never - not once, not ever - made me feel like I couldn't succeed at writing (or at anything else I ever tried or wanted to try.) He bought me my first word processor (yes, I am that old.) He made such a big deal out of the first manuscript I finished that I felt like I'd already made the bestseller list. When two of my stories were published in anthologies - in actual books! - he brought them to work to put in the waiting area for everyone to see. (Not only that, but he'd report back to me - "Someone read Hint Fiction today because it was on the other table.") Whether it's a reading festival, a book signing, an author talk or a writing conference, he's either there with me or encouraging me to go. And don't get me started on all the writing books and writing related things he's gotten me for various birthdays and holidays.

I can only hope that I've been - and will continue to be! - that person for him, too. 

Let's all be that person today, this week - for someone, in some way.

Class Trip

My story, "Class Trip," is up at One Forty Fiction.

It's a short, dark tale that plays on one of my many (many) fears. If you stop over and read it, I'd love to know what you think.

What's on Your Apocalyptic Bookshelf?

"If I had known the world was going to end, 

I would've brought better books." 

(Dale, from the TV show, "The Walking Dead")

Besides making me laugh, this line got me thinking - what books would I want with me if the Super Flu hit or the zombies ruled or the whole deserted island thing happened?

Surprisingly, the woman who waffles over pretty much everything - including whether or not to have waffles for breakfast - knew right off the three books on her apocalyptic bookshelf, followed quickly by two more additions. 

The Stand by Stephen King  (Oh, the irony!)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Any of the Calvin and Hobbes collections by Bill Watterson

Yes, I know - the smart thing would be to choose books about surviving, but since I'm pretty sure I wouldn't last all that long anyway, I'd rather go down reading some of my all time favorite books. They all have a depth and a heart that draw me back to them over and over. The characters are old friends yet the stories offer something new with each re-read. All of the books ground me yet take me somewhere else - a plus when you're hiding from vampires or werewolves or whatever is roaming around out there waiting to eat you.

What books would be on your "end of the world" bookshelf and why?

Motivational Monday

THE LONG-LIVED BOOKS OF TOMORROW

ARE CONCEALED AMONGST THE SO-FAR 

UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS OF TODAY.

(Philip Unwin)

All the books that we now love were once . . . something else - a vague idea floating in someone's imagination, an overheard conversation half-scribbled on a napkin, illegible notes written in the deep darkness after emerging from a nightmare.  

That story, novel, personal essay, poem, sculpture, photograph, painting, video game, comic book, song, whatever it is that you've created today has the potential to become someone's favorite work tomorrow. We might have in our hands, in our minds or in our imaginations the work that will become someone's go-to object for entertainment or comfort or inspiration or source of beauty.

So, before we toss that manuscript or creative project, and berate ourselves for wasting time, let's stop and think about that a moment. 

After all, you just never know . . .