Do you Steampunk? Steampunking in the 21st Century...

So there I was, doing some research for my latest novel, looking up some info on the 1940's and some other things I want to include in the novel when I stumbled upon this blog: Hawkins Strongbox. Now, this is some fun and intriguing work and it has me excited thinking of all the fantastic possibilities for authorship in this technological age. I've seen and heard of ideas like this before, but Mr. Pepper (a Disney writer) has put a crazy amount of time and effort into this blog, not just the writing, but the artistic side as well. The blog is fascinating and the potential is endless. And it is an example of "steampunk" writing.

Having never heard of the term "steampunk" until today, I am surprised to find myself already a fan of the genre. I've long been a science fiction fan, loving the futuristic works of Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and the like. I've also liked The Leauge of Extraordinary Gentlemen which is based on the comic book series by Alan Moore who also created the anti-hero V of V for Vendetta fame Apparently those movies are somewhat Steampunk. Similarly, I've always been intrigued by the movie starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline which is based upon a television series of the same name - Wild Wild West. Apparently, this is Western Steampunk. And, of course, I have long read H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, which apparently a lot of steampunk artists base their stuff on. Do you find yourself scratching your head and saying, "Huh?" out loud to yourself? 'Cause I certainly did earlier today.

So, I did a little research and found out that steampunk actually has a long and fascinating history. What I find equally as fascinating is the apparently large cult following of all things steampunk and how little I previously knew of this interesting genre and its audience. A quick search on Amazon.com for steampunk turned up everything from books to apparel to props and more.

My momma always told me, "You learn something new every day." Today I learned more than one thing. I learned about a new genre, I learned something about what the future of writing might be and how it could involve the internet and I learned that steampunk is a word...okay a made up word...but, hey, Shakespeare made up a whole bunch of words that we don't call made up any more!

Writing and Waiting

I am getting more and more excited about this novel that has been brewing in my head. I've put some scenes onto paper and am working on character backgrounds and plot points. This is the fun part, the interesting part. The part where I am finding out who I am writing about and how their story unfolds. Next will come the hard part. Sitting down and writing and putting it all together into something cohesive! I can't wait to see what will happen. Yep, that's right. Even I, with all my plot points, don't know exactly what is going to happen yet. My characters are often sneaky that way!

I am also still waiting to hear from the journal to which I submitted my recent article. That is HARDEST part - all the waiting after a submission. Oh - the agony! (Too dramatic? Don't forget, I'm also into drama.)

Speaking of which - sounds like plans are coming together for the performing arts studio - perhaps my drama teaching position will be starting soon. I'll be sure and update on here!

Working on New Characters

The whisper of an idea for a novel came to me about eight years ago, during the time that I lived in Las Vegas and pieces of it have been floating around in my (strange) cranium for that many years. The other night, after reading the last chapter of The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee, I was inspired to actually begin putting together this novel that I have been playing around with for that long. It is amazing to me the process of building characters. I've only been working on this particular work for two days and already some of the characters that have been lurking in the shadows of my brain have surprised me with who they really are! For instance, one of the main female characters that I have been thinking of for several years as young, essentially good and innocent surprised me today when I peeked into her closet. I suddenly realized that she is not as innocent as I had previously assumed. I can't wait to see what other surprises lie in store for me as I get to know better these folks who have been my acquaintances for a number of years. Well, back to plotting...

Poetry Contest Goal

Our family was setting some family and personal goals recently and I have set this personal goal for myself: I WILL enter the Writer's Digest Poetry Contest coming up this December. The deadline for entries is December 15, so I have set myself the goal of making my entries ready by the end of November. I wrote it down on our personal goal sheet and I am setting it in stone here in this forum. I want to have it written and have others know about it so that I will be more invested in taking the steps to actually get it done this time. So, wish me luck!

For more info on the contest you can head to: http://www.writersdigest.com/poetryawards

Television Treatments

Well, here is a new one! I have been asked to help develop and write a treatment for an idea for a television show. This is something I have never done. I am doing some research on the process and on what should be included in a treatment (title, logline, synopsis). Have you ever written a treatment? Do you know the process? Do you know anything about registering with the WGA? Any information from my loyal readers would be greatly appreciated!

New Projects

Well, after a bit of a "maternity leave", I'm back on the hunt for new freelance projects. I'm reworking my writing resume a bit and submitting on new fronts. Internet magazines seem to be the up and coming craze. It will be interesting to see the direction that they take. Here are some that I have come across recently:

a handful of stones
http://www.ahandfulofstones.com/

First and Last Sentence Magazine
http://www.firstandlastsentence.blogspot.com/

and of course the great The Adirondack Review
http://adirondackreview.homestead.com/index.html

The 3-Day Novel Contest

I've never heard of this before, but it sounds very interesting. Write an entire novel in three days and have the possibility of a publishing contract for that novel? Sound crazy? Well, more than a few people have accomplished the feat. Here is the link to all of the info: http://www.3daynovel.com/

There has to be a better way...

As I have mentioned, I'm coming off of a long writing dry spell. One of my long term goals over the years has been to write a novel. I've attempted to start and gotten bogged down quite a few times. Over the last few months the idea that there has to be a better way has continually come to mind. I consider myself a character-based writer. I think up characters. I write about characters. I explore them inside and out and get to know them like I know my best friends. And then I start trying to plot around them and I get totally lost. I get halfway through a novel and am so confused I can't remember where I was going in the first place. There has to be a better way. I need plotting help!

I own a book that I bought a number of years ago called The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray. I have browsed through it a few times over the years, but never actually sat down and worked through it until recently. I also subscribe to a blog by Randy Ingermanson (http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/index.php) that I feel always has some fantastic information and help for fiction writers. Both Ray and Ingermanson offer a design process to use before beginning the novel and I've finally come to the conclusion that I need to employ just that type of process if I'm ever going to make sense of this whole plotting thing. Ray has you start with character sketches based on strangers in public places. Ingermanson has you start with a basic plot synopsis boiled down to a sentence. Both agree that it is well worth it to do extensive plotting and synopsis work on the novel before you ever start writing the first draft. One way or the other, I feel that the idea of the advance design process is the Better Way that I've been looking for all along. So...here goes nothing. By choosing to learn a new way of novel writing I will gain, if nothing else, a new perspective on this craft that I have chosen as a way of life.

For those interested in more information on these methods, here is the info. Randy Ingermanson devotes a page on his website to his process called the Snowflake Method. You can look at it here: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php Be sure to check out all of the other great information that he gives away on his website and blog as well. Robert J. Ray's original edition of The Weekend Novelist is no longer in print and from what I've read in the reviews at Amazon, the second edition (with a co-author) is not nearly as worth the investment. You can, however, still purchase used first editions on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Weekend-Novelist-Dynamic-52-week-Finished/dp/B001DF9HM8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233178099&sr=1-4) For a great review of this book check out http://fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue26/bookreview.htm

Poetry Contest

Here is a poetry contest that I thought some of my regular readers would be interested in. The contest is sponsored by Writecorner Press. Poems must be a maximum length of 40 lines, the entry fee is $5 for the first poem and $3 for each additional poem and the awards are a $500 first place award as well as some $100 editor's choice awards. The winning poem and editors' choices will be published on www.writecorner.com and are eligible for inclusion in the permanent website writecorner.com anthology. (By submitting work to this contest, authors give permission to Writecorner Press to publish the award winning poetry and editors' choices on the writecorner.com website. Authors retain all other rights to their works.)

For full entry guidelines, take a look at http://www.writecorner.com/poetry_guidelines.asp

(I'm already trying to decide which poems I'll submit!) :-)

Writing Critique Groups

For the last month or so, I have been participating within a writing critique group and I have to say that it has added a much needed dimension to my creative writing experience. The group grew out of the shared experience of doing the Poem-A-Day Challenge on Robert Lee Brewer’s blog Poetic Asides. One of the ladies that also participated in that challenge sent messages to two of us other ladies and asked us if we would be interested in forming a group. And just recently we added our fourth member. Our group consists of women who live in three different countries, some who have children at home, some who have grown children and all of whom have a tremendous passion for writing.

If you are a writer and you would like to add a new dimension of understanding as to how your potential readers will view your work, then I highly recommend joining a similar group. Whether you meet with local friends every week or get together with some regional folks once a month or do as I do and “meet” online, your writing will benefit greatly from the insight of trusted and talented people. Not only has this group helped me perfect my work based on the other member comments, it has given me insight in to how others write as well as inspired me to write different types of things than I have ever written before.

Here is how our group is set up. We have decided that we will keep our group small. We currently have four members and I don’t believe that we will be adding any new members any time soon. Each member has a certain week that they submit some piece of written material – in our group, it can be any written work: poetry, short story, part of a novel, an essay, even query letters if someone is needing help with the correct wording. That person submits their work on Sunday, then the other members of the group critique within a few days and send comments back to the author. At that point, the author reviews the group comments, makes revisions based on what they feel does or doesn’t make sense from the comments and sends revisions back to the group for another round of comments. Next week is another member’s turn and we begin the process again.

Travelogue

We are home. And we had a blast!

Nicole traveled better on this trip than on any previous trip and I believe that this is due to her new found freedom in her booster seat as opposed to being so confined to a two strap car seat. We had packed various “surprise” toys for her and they also went a long way toward ensuring everyone’s sanity in the many long days on the road. Besides the wedding, which was the reason for and the center point of our trip, we also stopped in New Mexico for two days to see family, spent some time with my sister in Denver, got to go to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Gravesite, Red Rocks Ampitheater, stopped to shop at a large outlet mall in Castle Rock, went to the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs, saw an aunt and uncle in Albuquerque and explored Old Town Albuquerque. We packed a lot of stuff and way too much driving into 6 days and made it home a day early so that we had one day to spend at home unpacking, unwinding and doing a couple of small home projects.

I am including a few of our photos. We plan to make a family vacation an annual event, as we believe that it was a bond-strengthening, family-developing occasion. The only downer on the week was an infection that developed in my impacted wisdom tooth just as we were leaving. This kept me in some pain and made me eat funny as it hurt to open my jaw. I’m sure it was quite entertaining to those around wherever we ate, including the very nice wedding reception. I have an appointment with the dentist first thing tomorrow morning.

As soon as the whole dental pain thing is done, I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things around here, get the house in order and get back into a regular writing schedule. I am excited to see what this summer will bring!

Character Issues

Wouldn’t it be great if all of our characters were beloved family friends to our readers? I remember a story about a woman calling a pastor for some counseling. After talking with the woman for several minutes, the pastor was quite concerned. The woman had related multiple stories of adultery and murder. The pastor, upon further questioning of the woman, felt quite silly at having been so duped. The woman had been relating stories from her favorite soap opera. She was quite concerned over their fates.

If only all the readers of my stories felt so much connection with my characters. Apparently the readers of Craig Johnson’s stories about a fictional Wyoming Sheriff feel that connection. His main character, Walt Longmire, received 13 write-in votes in the recent Johnson County, Wyoming Sheriff’s election. :-) You can pre-order Johnson’s latest offering – Another Man’s Moccasins – at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Another-Mans-Moccasins-Longmire-Mystery/dp/0670018619/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211428575&sr=8-1

Journal Wreckage

In my continual struggle with the perfectionism that was handed down to me through the ages from first born to first born to first born, I have always struggled to actually finish writing a story. I often begin composing a piece and then decide that because the story is set in Las Vegas during the 1950’s that I must research every aspect of the area, the mob involvement, the atom bomb parties, etc. Soon, I get bogged down in all of the petty details and I forget who my characters are and why they were in Las Vegas during that time frame to begin with. The creative writing class that I recently took was a good first step in breaking that nasty habit, but I continue to work on this aspect of my writing. The other day, I was sitting around trying to come up with some good exercises in training my brain to just write and leave the editor out of it to begin with. Then it dawned on me – I already own a fantastic tool for just this type of training. This tool was given to me as a Christmas gift. My mother gave me a journal. But this is no ordinary journal. It is called Wreck This Journal and it was created by Keri Smith. Having been raised with a very healthy respect of books, this book was at first quite intimidating. Rather than being a regular journal with blank or lined pages on which to record your innermost thoughts or the happenings of your day, this journal comes with detailed instructions on almost every page as to how to destruct it. Yep, that’s right, I said the journal has instructions for destruction. Instructions such as “sew this page”, “bring this book in the shower with you”, and “collect your pocket lint – glue it here” are enough to give any journal lover a heart attack. The benefit of having a book like this for me to work on is that I will be forced to be “imperfect.” One of my favorite pages is the one titled “Space for Negative Comments*”. The note at the bottom of this page reads “*what is your inner critic saying?” I have a feeling this might be the page that fills up first, because my inner critic can rage out of control. :-) Another page which will encourage my more creative side is the one which says “Write Carelessly. Now.” I have already started making some entries in the journal, although I haven’t exactly brought myself to do any of the really, really destructive things. But it will come. I look forward to seeing how this tool will release my inner creative self and force my inner editor to take a back seat for once. One thing I’ve already tried to explain to that pesky editor is that this does not in any way mean that she is being fired – only demoted. :-)

(If you are interested in getting one of these wonderful journals for your own use, you can order one online from Amazon.com by clicking here: http://www.amazon.com/Wreck-This-Journal-Keri-Smith/dp/039953346X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211239759&sr=8-1 Enjoy!)

Interruption Anyone?

As a fellow blogger and fellow mommy writer, Gina Conroy’s blog title is quite appropriate. Portrait of a Writer…Interrupted is a fantastic blog that I am coming to look forward to reading on a regular basis as I embark on my new writing adventures. Boy, did I feel the Interrupted part today. I had just finished cranking out about three pages of work on my new short story when I realized that in my writing zeal I had failed to notice the extreme quiet that had settled over the house. Uh-oh… Quiet is never good with a two and half year old around. Upon entering the bedroom where I had last seen Nicole happily drinking milk out of a sippy cup and watching her Country Elmo DVD, I now found her sitting in the middle of my bed covered in “Daddy’s cream.” My husband has issues with dry legs, so he keeps some extra-thick heavy duty skin cream on the nightstand. For the third time in a few months, she had it from her head to her toes and today it was all over the bedding, including on the mattress and the bed skirt, all over the floor on his side of the bed, and a little bit on his Bible, his copy of a Bible-study workbook and the portable DVD player.

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! I was just really getting into the story. Now, I got to take time out for discipline, a bath, stripping the bed, laundry, carpet scrubbing and taking a shower after all was said and done. Sitting back down at the computer, after having put the offender to bed for a nap scrubbed clean of all white stickiness, I thought immediately of Gina’s blog and how apropos it was. I also thought of what a great blog today’s incident would make. And the story is still sitting there in the other Word window – waiting for me to pick right back up where I left off when I was interrupted!

(The picture is a few months old, being from the first of these ‘cream’ incidents. The creamy temptation has now been removed from that bedroom altogether. :-) )

Your Personal Brand

As a freelance writer, it is important that I pay attention to good marketing principles. As many writers know, it is easy to neglect the business side of our craft and focus only on the creative. But, without a good marketing strategy, a freelance writer’s business is unlikely to prosper. One of my favorite marketing blogs recently posted a white paper on a subject that I think is especially important for us writers. That is Personal Branding. As a corporate employee, I used to be able to somewhat rely on the reputation of my companies brand for my livelihood. As a freelance writer, however, I must be much more vigilant to preserve my own reputation. For more information you can take a look at the My Creative Team THINKing blog here: http://www.my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=706 and read the white paper. Please be sure and leave them a comment with a word of thanks!

Let's Get This Party Started!

I have had a love of writing for many years. The physical act of putting pencil to paper thrills me. It has held this allure since I was very young. I have a secret stash of old journals full of everything from fiction writing, diary type entries, poetry, unfinished letters, and other general nonsense. The oldest of these dates back to the year I turned six. It’s a travel journal of sorts, chronicling a trip that our family took from New Mexico to Kansas. During my high school years, I bought a copy of Writer’s Market every year for about three years and submitted a handful of fiction pieces and non-fiction queries. I received back the usual spate of rejection slips and two acceptance notices. As soon as high school was out, I moved on to building a career as a billing specialist in a niche of the construction industry and did quite well. Writing took a back burner for about ten years. Recently, with a husband and a young daughter and a complete change of scenery (from the Las Vegas high-life to the country quiet-life) I made the decision to stay at home full time – and to pursue a writing career full okay at least three-quarter time. (C’mon, cut me some slack, I have a two and a half year old, okay?) This blog will be the narrative of this new journey.

In that vein, here are the writing notables of my recent months:

• I have almost completed a semester long online Creative Writing course at Yavapai College
• I participated in and completed the month long PAD challenge at Robert Lee Brewer’s blog: http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/default.aspx
• I have been retained to compose monthly newsletters for two businesses email marketing efforts

I also hope, through this blog, to network with other writers, blog authors, and poets (especially some of the wonderful community of people I have been privileged to get to know through the PAD challenge) as well as to share useful information that comes my way through this pursuit.

So come along with me and we will grow together…from the Roots up!