Patricia Wrede’s Wisdom

Posted on by November 15, 2010
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Earlier today, I read Patricia C. Wrede’s blog post about finding the single absolutely perfect word while writing.  I’ve struggled with this.  There are times when one of my characters thinks, says, or does something, and I know there’s a wonderful word on the back of my brain that would be perfect for the given situation.  Unfortunately, these words aren’t kind to me, and they refuse to come when called.  I usually compromise with my inner editor in a way similar Wrede’s.  I stop and think for a moment, trying to put myself as deeply into that character’s shoes as I can, then write the best descriptions I can think of to fit the situation.  I leave it like that and keep writing.

This does a few things.

1)  It lets me continuing writing.  I don’t have to let a single word stand between me and however many words, lines, or pages I can write that day.

2)  I stay aware of the problem line in the back of my head.  I like doing this, as it seems that most of my story problems solve themselves fairly well if I keep them simmering on the back-burner long enough.  I can’t begin to number the times I think, How can I fix this issue? only to realize that my subconscious already has it figured out.  I love it when this happens – I put in less conscious effort, and my story feels more natural than if I forced a lesser storyline.

3)  There are two parts to this one.  Sometimes, after being away from a problem area for a while, I’m able to look at the issue more objectively.  (Not always, but sometimes.)  As Wrede discovered, sometimes the problem really is all in the writer’s head.  Sometimes there is no single right answer, and whatever I put down is quite good enough.

If I still think there’s a problem, however, I have several “reminders” for where the problem area is.  I can look for the spots where I’ve listed several alternatives, and play around with them, mixing them up or creating more.  Even better, I can share the suggestions I’ve given myself with others (usually family members), and see which one(s) they think fits best and why.  Sometimes they have an even better suggestion, or can tell me why one description fits where another fails.  They may have insights for why a character acts a certain way that I wouldn’t think of.  (For instance, of course Character A would give Character B a sword – not only because B collects antique weapons and knows swordplay, but also because A has a history for disliking this sword and wants to get rid of it.  I might catch the first part but completely miss the second part.)

It’s always amusing and scary to read an author’s blog post and realize that the Famous and Wise Author does things the same way I do….

I Love Amazon….

Posted on by November 15, 2010
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I mentioned a book in my post about two hours ago – The Hundred–Year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald.  I love Amazon.com because they (sometimes, if you’re lucky) let you read snippets of books online.  I just read (and enjoyed) a good bit of The Hundred–Year Lie through Amazon.  Very enlightening.  I might look into getting my own copy of that one….

(All right, enjoyed might be the wrong word here.  It’s actually kind of scary to find out just how unhealthy we are.  I loved the paragraph starting on line 6 of page 23.  (Sarcasm….)  It seems like there are a lot of health issues we could clear up through proper eating.  However, I found the snippets very readable, and it kept me interested.  Horrified, but interested.)

Eating Healthy

Posted on by November 26, 2010
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I just ran into a friend’s blog.

I read all the posts, and now I want to read The Hundred–Year Lie by Randall Fitzgerald.  I actually found a copy at the Nearby Library.

Sadly, I can’t request it.  I plan to read it, anyway….  😉

After all, if locating and cooking (healthy) food isn’t a craft, what is?

On a related note, who knew apples could be so healthy?

Pure Fantasy

Posted on by November 10, 2010
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I enjoy writing.  I love fantasy.

Put those together and, yes, I love writing fantasy.  That doesn’t mean it’s good, mind, but I enjoy doing it.

Over the last several days I’ve managed to throw three and a half pages together (for me, a written page is one lined piece of paper, double-spaced, both sides).  That might not sound like a lot, but trust me – it’s rare that I can scrape together enough time to write even one page a week.  Life’s busy – but I’m finding time to write!  Or trying to, anyway….  😉

It helps that I’m approaching a Very Exciting Plot Point that I’ve been waiting six months to get to….

Angels and The Lost-And-Found

Posted on by November 24, 2010
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I just want to preface this by saying that I don’t usually forget things.  Particularly not important things.  But… my old purse died about a month ago and I’m still adjusting to the new one.  The old one had a nice long strap, and I could wear it everywhere.  I didn’t have to worry about forgetting it.  The new one?  It has a very small strap.  The best I can do with it is wear it on my arm.  I don’t like doing that very much because the strap is also connected to the main pocket’s zipper.  If I’m wearing it, I have to worry about it flying open if I turn wrong.  Even if this never happens, I’m highly imaginative, and… I don’t even like to think about it.

Okay.  That said, I’m going to try to tell this properly (read: in order).

It begins, as with so many things, with a library book.  (Speaking of library books, I returned the Library Stack of Doom on Monday.  I should have taken pictures.  Nineteen books, three movies, and two CDs.  I love libraries.)  The book was due today, and I’ve not gotten to it, so I took it along with me to a lecture so I could look through and see if it was worth checking out again (it looks promising – The Facttracker by Jason Eaton).  I arrived early for said lecture, and opened the book.  Several chapters in, I looked at my watch.  It was nearly time to find the lecture-room.  I stood up, put my book in my bag, grabbed my bag, and left my purse.

Let me say that again.

I LEFT MY PURSE.

The awful thing is, I occasionally put my purse inside my bag (so I don’t have to worry about leaving it behind) – but not often (because I want it to be easily accessible.  Search through one bag for another bag to find my bus pass or keys?  No, thanks!).  Needless to say, I didn’t even notice the thing was missing until five minutes after the lecture – and only because I wanted to call a family member about the Very Interesting Book I’d been reading.

My cell phone lives in my purse, and my purse was not in my bag.

I looked in my bag again.  No purse.  I searched where I’d been sitting for the lecture.  No purse.  I searched the area where I’d read the book before the lecture.  No purse – but a lightbulb clicked on.  That place was the last spot where I’d seen / had my purse.  If it wasn’t there, then in must be in the Lost and Found.  I refused to consider the decidedly-less-than-favorable alternative.  I’d cross that bridge if I came to it.

I found the building’s information desk.  I asked the Kind Ladies behind the desk if I could check the Lost and Found box – there was a Lost and Found drop-off bin right there, but built like a library’s Return Box – meaning anyone could put anything in, but you’d need a key to take it back out.

One of the Kind Ladies got the key, asked me what I was looking for, and what color it was.  When she opened the bin – there was my purse! I thanked them both, rushed outside (I think – I was in a bit of a daze at that point) and checked the contents.

My ID was there.

My bus pass was there.

My Library Cards (yes, two of them) were there.

Both sets of keys, my wallet (all intact), my flashdrives, my cell phone – so far as I can tell, everything is there.

There is an Angel in my Dry State.  I’m grateful the purse wasn’t found by someone less scrupulous.

And yes, I returned the library book.  😉

The Answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything

Posted on by October 30, 2010
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While doing laundry a few days ago, I decided to throw my finger puppets in with everything else.  What puppets, you ask?  I’ll put pictures up soon.  When I find the time.  Those two concepts seem to contradict each other, but I’ll work something out.  Suffice it to say that for the past several years, I’ve amused myself by making finger puppets.  I’ve played with the pattern, and managed to make a dragon and a mermaid or two, but that’s another story.

When I’m at home, it’s the standard project: if I want to knit something, I’ll pull out a few colors, twirl my needles, and have a puppet, complete with arms, face, and skirt (or embroidered to resemble pants, depending on my mood and the colors I picked) in an hour or two.

Anyway, some of these puppets have been around for a few years and had yet to be washed – I decided it was past time to wash them all.  To ensure neither  washer nor dryer ate any puppets, I decided to count them.

I’ve known for a while that I’ve had A Lot of finger puppets (somehow reconciled with an unrelenting determination to make more), but I’ve not been able to keep track of just how many.  I counted them, made mental note of the number, and piled them all in the Klein Bottle Bag I made last year.  It was very amusing to note the state of the puppets when I cycled the laundry – none of the puppets had escaped, but many had been knocked through to the “other” bag (if you understand about Klein Bottles, this makes perfect sense.  A few were also in the “handle” portion).  At the end of the dryer’s cycle, I gathered all the puppets (two or three had managed to escape the bag altogether) and counted them.  I had the right number, happily.  Neither washer nor dryer had eaten them nor sent them to that Land Where Reside All Missing Socks.  (I closely guard my socks when doing laundry, too.  These are real fears.  I’ve had socks randomly disappear from me in the past.)

How many puppets, you ask?

I let my Puppet Hydra Glove (I’ll post pictures, and you’ll understand the name) count as one.  I also counted the Rapunzel dolls, since I was washing them, too.  Others might have counted these differently, and ended up with a different number.

Forty-two yarn entities survived the wash cycle.  That’s right, all you Douglas Adam fans.  My Klein Bottle Bag now holds the Answer to Life, The Universe, And Everything.

Crocheted Stuffed Animals

Posted on by October 20, 2010
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I admit it – when I posted Saturday night about taking and uploading pictures of completed projects, I didn’t think I’d get to it this fast.  I’d just called myself a world-class procrastinator, after all.  So what happened?

Simple.  Some of those projects fell due.  I made some as gifts for relatives out in This Dry State.  Those relatives came by to visit earlier today, and I knew that if I wanted pictures of my projects, I needed to take them ASAP.  (Naturally, this is when my camera begins telling me that it’s old batteries – from 2 or 3 months ago – are Dying.  I’ve never heard of batteries being eaten at such a rate – but I digress.)

And then, of course, as long as I had everything loaded staring at me on the computer, I decided that there’s no time like The Present for putting them where they belong.  So, take a look at the Crafty Corner for some super-cute stuffed animals.  (This is a completely unbiased opinion.  If you disagree, I blame my camera.)

I’ve seen some really cool ways of displaying multiple pictures at once.  (Just now, I’m thinking of this way.  Watch the picture – it fades into another picture.)  I’d like to do something like that for the Crafty Corner.  Unfortunately, I haven’t discovered yet how to do that.  Once I figure it out, I’ll consolidate all those pictures into one slide show (or more – I’m still thinking about it).  Until then… until then, I’m going to have an extremely long page with many pictures along it.

I think I’ll go make some artisan bread now….

For All Those Skeptics Out There

Posted on by October 17, 2010
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I know some of you don’t believe what I said yesterday, about returning a dozen or more books to the library at once.  Well, check this out:

See that stack of books on the right?  Maybe that’s not such a great view.  Let’s try again, shall we?

That stack of books is my current Library Book Stack of Doom.  I don’t know about you, but I count 18 books from that picture.

Half of them are due on the same day; seven more are due within a few days on either side of that day.  I’ll probably be returning all of those books on the same day.  That’s 16 books, all returned on one day.

Told you a measly dozen was rounding down.  😉

The Forgotten Door, Among Other Things

Posted on by October 17, 2010
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I’ve added to two of the author pages.  Yes, that’s something I’ll probably be doing on and off for a while – get used to it.  😉

First off, I added Alexander Key to the Books I’ve Loved page.  Seriously, of all the books I’ve loved, The Forgotten Door has to be on the Top Ten list.  It’s up there with old favorites, like Black Beauty, Little Women, A Little Princess, or Little Lord Fauntleroy – except it’s shorter.  Which means that you can read it more, and love it more.  He’s written other great books, but that one is my all-time favorite of his.

I also added Spencer Johnson to Books I’ve Loved and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee to Other Amazing Authors.

And now, It’s Time for An Update.  I never meant to go so long without  posting.  I should have known better.  I am, after all, a World-Class Procrastinator.  Old habits die hard.

So, if I weren’t so great at procrastinating, what would I have posted about?  Well, I’d love to share, but it’s been a long few weeks, and I’m tired, so I think I’ll tell you tomorrow….

Just kidding.

For one thing, I went to the library about two weeks ago (Monday).  That’s not remarkable in and of itself, but it was raining at the time.  Really raining.  Forget-about-cats-and-dogs,-it’s-raining-tigers-and-wolves raining.  And I had a bag full of books to return.  I live in a Dry State.  It never rains out here.  It wasn’t raining when I left home, so why would I have an umbrella?  I was outside for several minutes (in the rain) before getting to the library, and all I hoped was that the books weren’t too soaked.  It was almost a given that the top books were wet (I felt like someone had turned a hose on me, full blast), but I just hoped I wouldn’t have to pay $300 or so for damages (have I mentioned that I read a lot?  I must have been returning a dozen or so books.  No exaggeration.  If anything, that’s rounding down.)  I entered the library, stepped away from the doors, tossed my hair over my shoulder (so as not to drip on the poor library books) and opened the bag to check the damage.  I was amazed.  The books were dry.  If I had not brought them myself, through the rainstorm, I would never have believed that they were just in from the rain.  Needless to say, I was much relieved.

Another point of interest – it rained just about all week that week.  Maybe not every day, but it felt like it.  As I said, this is a point of interest because this is a Dry State, and it Never Rains Here.  Well, okay.  Not Never – but Rarely.

On a more Crafty note, I made significant progress on my Brute doll.  (And if you don’t know who Brute is, shame on you!  Go to the nearest library and check out Rapunzel’s Revenge.  Then read Calamity Jack for good measure.)  Next up, I believe, will either be Mother Gothel or 16-year-old Rapunzel.  (If you have no clue what I’m talking about, see the above note for Brute.  Then check this out!)  Unfortunately, I can’t finish Brute yet – I don’t have the right yarn colors to finish his boots or give him hair.  Bear with me for a bit, and I’ll post pictures once I’m done.

A week or so back, I was… strongly encouraged to write a few short stories in a limited time.  It was very fun – I threw together five short stories in two days.  Writing is fun; and while I think that writing with a deadline is considerably less fun (as it allows much less time for thinking the story out, planning ahead, fleshing out characters, and such), a deadline is also… very motivational.  I find that I’m a great deal more focused when I have a deadline.  Especially a short one.

The only thing I have left to say is that today was very productive.  Not only did I finally write another post, but I did a Considerable Amount of Cleaning, fixed three separate holes (or split seams) in one pair of jeans (it’s a very nice pair, so well worth the trouble), and fixed a hole near one of the seams in a shirt (again, well worth the trouble – that’s one of my favorite shirts, and I’m not letting it go without a fight.  Or two minutes of sewing, as the case may be….).

Now, to see what I can do about posting some of those finished projects of mine….  That should be an adventure….

The Many Lives of a Good Book

Posted on by September 22, 2010
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I went to the library earlier, and I just couldn’t help myself.  I checked out a book.  Not just any old book, either, but a collection of short stories written by Patricia C. Wrede!

As I headed for the checkout line, however, I just had to ask myself, Why am I checking this book out?

Don’t get me wrong.  I love reading, and I especially love reading books by Patricia C. Wrede.  But I’ve already read this book (several times, in fact), and I’m chronically short on time.  This book looks like a two- or three-hour read – hours that I’ll have to pull from some other probably-more-urgent-or-important-but-nowhere-near-as-fun task.  So why did I knowingly check out such a lethal time-waster?

Because, in my book, reading isn’t a waste of time.  It helps me de-stress, and after reading a good  book I feel relatively human again after a busy, stressful day.  And I figured out at least three reasons for reading a good book.  I’m not saying these are the only reasons to read, and I’m not even saying that these are the only reasons for why I read (I only need one answer for that: it’s fun!).  But I tend to analyze things (such as why I like certain movies, why I enjoy particular hobbies, why I like books by particular authors, and why I’ll read a book I’ve read before instead of getting my work done…), and so this is the list I came up with.

1. Unread book. You don’t know how it ends, and the suspense of it pulls you through.  You care about the characters and want to know what happens to them and how the plot resolves itself.

2. Previously read, but really enjoyed. You go back and reread your favorite scenes and snippets of dialogue because the author was so amazing that you can’t help yourself.  You simply can’t get enough of this scene or that character (or, perhaps, a particular conversation) no matter how many times you read it.

3. Previously read, but can’t remember much. You’ve read it before, you know you’ve read it before, but you just can’t remember what happens.  Or you remember the ending, and most of the beginning, but entire chunks are missing from the middle.  Or you remember Main Character A and Supporting Character B, but who on earth is that character? (Diana Wynne Jones’s books have a habit of doing this to me.  She’s made a habit of being practically the only author whose entire plotlines ooze through the cracks of my otherwise reasonably plot-proof memory.)

As it turns out, the book I picked up falls into the third category.  I’ve read it, and I know I’ve read it, and I flipped through and recognized bits and pieces – but I couldn’t remember everything, and therefore couldn’t resist checking it out.  It’s almost as though she wrote an entirely new book that I’ve never read – and who can resist that?

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