Category: Preambles to Writing

Happy Valentine’s Day! Something for you

~~~~HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!~~~~

IMG_0048Aren’t these lovely? Every Valentine’s day I can count on a dozen roses from my beloved husband. What he likes is candy … chocolates or cinnamon hot hearts.

Today I have a blogging gift for you. There is a new blog on WordPress that I thought you might enjoy. It’s called Sokarsweet. (or click here to see it.)

Sokarsweet is my daughter’s photo blog. She and her family live in a lovely house on a beautiful lake with a gorgeous view. Her largest windows face west so she gets to see the amazing sunsets. I hope you will visit her blog and check out her photo posts. 

Another thing I have done for you is to update my blog and fix a few broken links. My apologies for the bad links; I was dismayed when I discovered them. Now when you click on each book title listed under Book Reviews you are taken directly to the review here on my blog. I also posted them on some or all of the following sites, according to whether the book is listed or sold there: Library Thing, Shelfari, BookLook (if I got the book from them to review; BookLook used to be BookSneeze), Goodreads, Chapters.Indigo, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.com. I have many more reviews to do, and some author interviews are coming up, too.

Now I have a question for you.  Do you have a favourite quote or verse or Scripture for Valentine’s Day? Anything about love.

Here are a few good ones, including one verse of a catchy old song some of us will remember.

  • I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. – Mother Teresa
  • Beloved, if God so loves us, we ought also to love one another. – 1 John 4:11
  • We love Him, because He first loved us. – 1 John 4:19
  • Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love. – Francis of Assisi
  • I love you a bushel and a peck
    A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck
    A hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap
    A barrel and a heap and I’m talkin’ in my sleep
    About you, about you
    ‘Cause I love you a bushel and a peck
    You bet your purdy neck I do

What can you add to this list?

Happy Valentine’s Day, thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

If you were to change your name what would it be?

As you know, I got myself a puppy November 30’13. She is a Schnoodle — Schnauzer x Poodle — and as cute as can be. She might weigh in at five pounds now, at almost five months of age. I will try to post a new picture of her in a later post.

When I introduced her to you I told you her name is Minnie.  You can read about it here. Well, this darlin’ little puppy has had many names. When I got her she was named Bianca — the breeder told me that was just so she had a name, probably for identifying purposes and vet visits. I went through many names to find the one for her, and settled on Minnie. Minnie described her but the name did not sit on my heart.

I enrolled her in obedience classes as planned, scheduled to begin January 19. Finally, on January 15, I changed her name to one that felt right. I know, a crazy time to do it just before obedience classes, and I was concerned she would not be responding to her new name by then, but she picked it up right away. Oh, I should tell you that her name now is Meyya, pronounced meh ya, but we say it may ya. It is Swahili, and in English it’s Mary. Meyya means independent, strong, wise, responsible. I’m not sure how that translates for a dog, but little Meyya is smart, quick to catch on, and is enjoying obedience classes. She obeys the commands Sit, Down (which is to lie down), Come (coming when her name is called … usually, especially if she thinks there is a treat for her), and other things we are working on.

Now for my question: If you were to change YOUR name, what would it be? I am thinking about that very thing now. When I was a wee young child I used to think about having a different name, but I couldn’t decide what I would want to be called forever. That’s my problem now, too, so what I am still considering is finding a pen name, just for my writing, and maybe go from there. Maybe.

Now I ask you again, have you ever thought about changing your name? Or perhaps you did make that brave move. Why or why not?

And I have asked this question before, have you chosen a pen name for yourself? Why or why not?

These are legitimate questions, so I hope you will leave a reply. It may help me decide in my own quest.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂

Sue Harrison’s “Writing the Third Dimension” – part 12: Whose Eyes?

Welcome back! Over the next many months we invite you to return here, specifically on the fourth Thursday of each month for the newest installment of Sue Harrison‘s teaching: Writing The Third Dimension. You can read all the segments by clicking on the page title WRITING THE THIRD DIMENSION, found under Writers’ Helps & Workshops on the drop-down menu. Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments for Sue. Now for the topic for month twelve:

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“Writing the Third Dimension” – part 12: Whose Eyes?

Here’s what I love about reading novels. They give me the opportunity to see the world through another person’s eyes. For a novelist to provide that great joy to his readers, he has to develop full and believable characters and then choose how to convey the thoughts and ideas of those characters on the written page. That choice is all about point of view (POV).

 

In determining POV, every writer has two main options, first person or third person. We’ll talk about variations, like second person,  in a later blog post, but today let’s keep it simple.

 

First Person POV: I went for a nice walk, and I saw a pretty flower.

 

Third Person POV: She went for a nice walk, and she saw a pretty flower.

 

I know, I know, the two sentences above deserve trashing for multiple reasons, but let’s not complicate matters. Two choices. That seems pretty straight forward. So how do you decide which is best for your novel? Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you how I decide which POV is best for my novels.

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

I consider these four things:

 

1. The usual POV in which my genre is presented.

 

2. My preference.

 

3. The strengths and weaknesses of each POV.

 

4. The unique characters in my novel.

 

So let’s talk about #1 – the usual POVs for some common genres. In my next “Writing the Third Dimension,” I’ll discuss numbers 2 through 4.

 

Historical fiction is usually presented in third person POV. That’s because historical fiction often paints on a wide canvas, and most authors prefer to open the minds of many characters to their readers. Multiple third person POVs are less awkward and, to most readers, more “believable” than multiple first person POVs.

 

Mysteries and Who-Done-Its boast a wide variety of sub-genres. Because of the differing requirements in each of these sub-genres, readers will find some novels presented in first person POV and others in third person. If the novelist wants the main character to be as stumped by the mystery as the reader, she will often choose first person POV. If the writer wants to present what happened from multiple viewpoints, he will often choose third person POV.

 

Romance novels are built on a foundation of strong emotions. They are often presented in first person POV, which is able to convey emotions at a very intense level.

 

Young Adult novels are often told from first person POV because of that same strong emotional bond the writer is trying to forge between a main character and the reader.

 

Action-Adventure is another genre that is split between both POVs, but if the novel has only one main character, authors often choose first person POV.

 

Children’s novels, those first chapter books, are also usually written in first person POV, and that is done to help young children bond more easily with the main character.

 

Feel free to add to our genre list. Do you have a reading preference for POV?

 

Enjoy the Journey!

 

Sue

*Writing the Third Dimension, copyright, 2010 Sue Harrison*

 

Sue HarrisonBestselling author, Sue Harrison, has written two Alaska trilogies: The Ivory Carver Trilogy and The Storyteller Trilogy, and a middle readers’ book SISU. Prior to the publication of her novels, Harrison was employed at Lake Superior State University as a writer and acting director of the Public Relations Department and as an adjunct instructor in creative writing and advanced creative writing. For more information, click here. To inquire about booking Sue for workshops or speaking engagements this year, click here.

Thanks for joining us! Please feel free to leave your questions and comments. We invite you come back February 27, 2014 for part 13.

My years in blogging on WordPress

My fourth WP blogging anniversary was January 9! I can hardly believe it’s been four years.  Thanks to Laura Best for telling me about WordPress when we met at her book signing in November 2009.

I’m sure you who have a blog here on WordPress received your annual report at the end of the year. You found out how much blogging you actually did last year, which of your posts were the most interesting to your readers, and how many times your blog was viewed during the year. I didn’t share any of my reports with you when I received them but here are the parts I like from 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. I find it interesting to look back and compare. Perhaps there is a post listed here you missed or would like to read again.

2010:

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,000 times in 2010. That’s about 5 full 747s.

 

In 2010, you wrote 67 new posts, not bad for the first year! You uploaded 24 pictures, taking up a total of 5mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

 

Your busiest day of the year was October 16th with 52 views. The most popular post that day was I love books! Know of any new ones to tell me about?.

 

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

2011:

Crunchy numbers

 

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,400 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

 

In 2011, there were 74 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 143 posts. There were 75 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 14 MB. That’s about a picture per week.

 

The busiest day of the year was November 10th with 97 views. The most popular post that day was the New 7Wonders of Nature: vote for Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy.

 

Attractions in 2011

 

These are the posts that got the most views in 2011. 

 

2012:

Crunchy numbers

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 13 years to get that many views.

In 2012, there were 87 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 229 posts. There were 287 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 74 MB. That’s about 6 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was January 23rd with 68 views. The most popular post that day was I received The Versatile Blogger award!.

Attractions in 2012

These are the posts that got the most views in 2012. 

 

2013:

Crunchy numbers

 

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 8,800 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

In 2013, there were 84 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 312 posts. There were 96 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 35 MB. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was September 25th with 140 views. The most popular post that day was It’s Banned Books Week: here’s a list of 100 banned books.

Attractions in 2013

These are the posts that got the most views in 2013. 

 

Did any of these catch your attention again?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂

Writing challenges over for now, fun news

It’s snowing on my blog again!  🙂

A quick note tonight ..

So quickly the month of November is gone and some of us are into Christmas planning mode. With November done so are that month’s writing challenges. My report is: I made the hard decision and dropped out of NaNoWriMo; I blogged 28 out of 30 days for NaBloPoMo; for PiBoIdMo I met and surpassed the 30 ideas in 30 days having accomplished 40 ideas. Yay! Some of those ideas are only titles, some are names for possible characters, others are ideas for stories. One idea in particular I feel quite good about and have a rough draft begun. That will be the one I start working on first.

piboidmo2013-lightbulb-laugh-200x254Especially exciting news for me in another vein is the day all those things finished another challenge began for me.  I found what I was looking for!  I will tell you more about that in a later post, but do you know what a Schnoodle is? (hint hint) Adorable is what! 🙂

This is my caregiving week and ‘the household’ has just retired for the night so I am off here to get some sleep myself.

Talk to you all later!  Blessings.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!  🙂

 

 

Good-bye NaNoWriMo ’13

I made a hard decision yesterday.

I dropped NaNoWriMo for this year. It just was not working out for me to write in that challenge. Perhaps it was because I took on three writing challenges for November and it was too much with all else going on, perhaps it was because I am simply having difficulty writing through to the end of my novel’s story, maybe it was because I am weary or preoccupied, or …. all of the above!

Whatever the reason, I gave up. That is something I hated to do, but it was better than reaching the end of November and hardly having anything added to my novel when I had a 50k goal or completion of my novel. My NaNo update page for 2013 has been revised to accommodate my decision. So, good-bye NaNoWriMo 2013; I’m disappointed to not have finished the story, and likely my sister will be, too, since she wants to know how it ends. (So do I!)

The good thing is I have been working away at PiBoIdMo and already have over the requirement for completion. Yay!piboidmo2013-lightbulb-happy-200x254I will update more later. And I may have some very exciting news soon!

Do you give up when it looks like failure, or as if you cannot complete what you set out to do?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings!

Sue Harrison’s “Writing the Third Dimension” – part 11: Break Dance!

Welcome! Over the next many months we invite you to return here, specifically on the fourth Thursday of each month for the newest installment of Sue Harrison‘s teaching: Writing The Third Dimension. You can read all the segments by clicking on the page title WRITING THE THIRD DIMENSION, found under Writers’ Helps & Workshops on the drop-down menu. Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments for Sue. Now for the topic for month eleven:

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“Writing the Third Dimension” – part 11: Break Dance!
I don’t hear much about one of the major rules for novelists. SCHEDULE BREAK TIMES!

Yes, you DO need to schedule definite writing times. Once a week or three times a week or every day, whatever works for you. Maybe you write for an hour or three hours or eight. (Don’t burn yourself out, by the way!) Some of my writer friends give themselves a goal of words written rather than time spent writing. The important thing is to establish a definite writing schedule. Maybe a dentist appointment will intrude but definitely not laziness or the dreaded “I’d Rather Not” Syndrome. That’s a novel killer for sure.

However, writers do need breaks.

If you’re reading the “Writing the Third Dimension” posts as I write them, that means that we’re closing in on the December holiday season.

PC240246 (This is a photo of my daughter, granddaughter, and my mom!)

I usually don’t write the last two weeks of December. During the rest of the year, I also break for Sundays, vacation trips, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Thanksgiving weekend, and a few other odds and ends along the way, including a week between finishing one book and starting the next.  The important thing is that these are SCHEDULED  BREAKS. I’m not cheating on my writing time. Once you begin to cheat on your writing time, it’s very difficult to get back into a disciplined routine.

Novelists function like marathon runners. Sustained discipline is often the only difference between success and failure. For the novelist, failure doesn’t have anything to do with publication or lack thereof. Failure is failing to finish when you suspect the book you’re writing is good enough to merit completion. (And I’m assuming here that your life situation and your health remains stable.)

In honor of the holiday season, and with Lynn’s agreement, I’m taking a December break from “Writing the Third Dimension” and will dedicate most of my December time to preparing for the holidays: sewing dresses for my granddaughter’s dolls, baking, cleaning, practicing songs for Christmas performances, wrapping gifts, writing holiday cards, having a houseful of guests and, and, and…

Meanwhile to all of you, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to connecting with all of you again on January 23rd. Holidays are fun but it’s always great to get back to writing!

What breaks do you schedule in your writing time?

Happy Writing and Many Blessings!

Sue

*Writing the Third Dimension, copyright, 2010 Sue Harrison*

Sue HarrisonBestselling author, Sue Harrison, has written two Alaska trilogies: The Ivory Carver Trilogy and The Storyteller Trilogy, and a middle readers’ book SISU. Prior to the publication of her novels, Harrison was employed at Lake Superior State University as a writer and acting director of the Public Relations Department and as an adjunct instructor in creative writing and advanced creative writing. For more information, click here. To inquire about booking Sue for workshops or speaking engagements this year, click here.

Thanks for joining us! Please feel free to leave your questions and comments. We invite you come back January 23, 2014, for part 12.