Computer Problems and Cousins

 

My laptop is having problems today. So, I am writing on my phone. Not an easy task, so this may be a short post. 

Were you fortunate to have cousins as a part of your growing-up years? Ones close enough that you saw them fairly regularly? Or were they scattered around the country, and you saw them only occasionally? At weddings or funerals or family reunions. 

I had eight first cousins, five of whom lived in our area. I saw them regularly as our families got together on a regular basis. The other three lived in Arizona, pretty far from the rest of our family in the Chicago area. 

I could write many stories about those cousins. One was an only child, close in age to me. We grew up more like sisters than cousins. That was great as I had three brothers but no sisters. My two oldest cousins were boys. By the time I was ten, one was in the Army and one in high school. They treated me like a rare porcelain doll. They were my protectors in all ways. 

One section of your family stories project could be devoted to cousins. Ones you were close to. The ones you didn’t much care for. The jealousies, the love, the tricks played, how you stood up for each other and more. 

Think about your cousins and the stories connected with them. Write the stories, short or long. Or write a character sketch of each cousin. 

Book Review: The Garden of Evening Mists

 

Today, I have a book review for you written by Kate Reynolds, author of Ernestine, a fine historical fiction novel. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng sounds like a great read. Let's see what Ms Reynolds has to say about the book

The Garden of Evening Mists, by Tan Twan Eng, is one of those books that likely will haunt a reader in the wee, small hours of the morning. For one thing, it’s beautifully written, featuring clear-eyed, understated prose and an engrossing story that casts light on a time and place few westerners really know. (Well, this westerner didn’t know much about either the time or the place.) For another, the theme – memory – with all its wistful sweetness and thorns, reminds us that time flees too quickly for all of us. This is a story of looking back, of understanding and coming to terms with the past.

The place is Malaya in 1951. Yun Ling Teoh is a judge retiring from her years on the bench in Kuala Lumpur. She has served on the War Crimes Tribunal, exacting justice for atrocities committed in the years when the Japanese occupied Malaya. But the judge is hardly a disinterested party. She, along with her beloved sister, had been prisoners in one of those same cruel Japanese prison camps. Judge Teoh is deeply scarred, physically and emotionally. She survived the camps. Her sister did not.

The reader learns that Judge Teoh has been diagnosed with aphasia, which will soon bring about a loss of ability to express herself or understand words. She will lose her memories as well. 

The judge decides to compose her memoirs in her former home in the Cameron Highlands near the Majuba Tea Estate. It is in this account of Judge Teo’s life that a reader is introduced to her former mentor, Aritomo, a Japanese master gardener and artist. Some years back, Judge Teoh had asked this man to create a garden in honor of her dead sister, despite memories of the cruelty she suffered in prison. The judge writes of how she had to swallow her hatred of the Japanese to ask her former enemy for help. But Aritomo is, after all, an accomplished gardener, and what better way to remember Judge Teoh’s sister than to create a lovely garden that will live forever? After all, “Gardens were created to approximate the idea of a paradise in the afterlife.”

In creating a Japanese garden, Judge Teoh must face her hatred of all things Japanese and her own dark memories. Her relationship with Aritomo, the master gardener, takes unexpected turns throughout the novel.

The story weaves back and forth in time between the years she spent with Aritomo in his garden and the present when she knows her own life is ending. In unlocking the past, Judge Teoh faces her own frailties and the terrible failures in her past. 

I found the time switches confusing at times, and my own unfamiliarity with Malaya made it hard to connect with the geography. But when The Garden of Evening Mists wanders back and forth in time, slowing peeling back the layers to Judge Teoh’s life and secrets, I am spellbound. Read it for the elegant language or read it for the history or read it for insight into Eastern culture. But do read it.

Assessing Your Writing World

 Today's poster quote gives some good advice. I applied it to my writing life, and you can, too.

Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what can be. 

What have I learned to accept as a writer? 

A. I have accepted the fact that I'm never going to have a novel on the Best Seller list. 

B. I've learned to look at rejections in as positive light as I can. (after I get over the original disappointment) 

C. I've learned where my strengths lie in the writing world. I originally wanted to write books for middle g rade children, but I gave up that idea when I found out that there were other places in the writing world that fit my talent better.

What have I let go?

A. I don't worry about being publishd. When it happens, it is a nice surprise.

B. I gave up the thought of writing fiction for adults.

C. I cut back on being a leader in my state writing organization for the sake of my health.

I have faith in future writing endeavors.

A. I know that I can write more stories for middle grade kids.

B. I feel confident that my blog is worhtwhile for many readers.

C. I will keep writing as long as I am mentally fit. 

How about you? Can you make three short lists about your own writing world that speak to today's quote? Give it some thought, then write your own lists. I used three for each part of the quote, but you can use as many, or as few, as you like. 

I think it is important that we take assessment of our writing life now and then. It's good to look at where you've been, where you are, and where you're going as a writer. It's not a abad idea to do this on an annual basis. 

Write About a Rainy Fall Day

 

A Rainy Fall Day

Another weekend is nearly here. In many areas, clocks will be set back an hour, so it will get dark earlier. In Manhattan, KS, our day is dark and gloomy. Off and on thunder booms, and lightning flashes, then heavy rain pours from the sky for a short time. A lull, then the threesome begins again. The weather people tell us this will be the pattern all day and through the night until around 5 a.m. Our state needs the rain desperately, so no one will complain. 

Still, it puts a damper on a lot of plans people have. High School football playoffs are in full swing. Our unbeaten Manhattan High team is scheduled to play tonight. Unless the lightning creates a delay or cancellation. 

Rainy days are ones many like to curl up with a book and a cup of tea, maybe a cookie to go with it. Listen to the rain against the window pane, read by the light of a lamp. Othrs must brave the elements to go to work, arriving a sodden mess or just cold and damp.

For a writing exercise this weekend, write a few paragraphs describing a rainy, fall day. Use the outdoors if you like, or write about being inside on a day when the rain keeps coming. Or about having to brave the elements to go to an appointment or to work. Maybe there is a chance of flooding, or a tornado. Write about your feelings on a day like this. Use sensory details. 

This exercise can be merely descriptive, or you can turn it into a story using description. What does the rain sound like? What does it look like when you gaze our a window? Can you smell the rain when you are outdoors walking on a rainy day? What does it feel like on your exposed skin? 

This rainy day exercise could become a full story or essay, one you can submit to a contest or for publication. Don't ignore writing exercises. They can become very useful in advancing your writing journey.

Problems Pop Up When Writing

 

No doubt many of you have seen the poster photo for today. Anyone who has written a book, or attempted to write one, looks at it and laughs. They laugh so they don't cry. At least, some of them.

Our plan of writing a book, or even a short story, essay, or article, doesn't always work out like we planned. Ah yes, the Plan. Books that center on writing a novel usually suggest that you have a plan. Get a story idea, make an outline, do character sketches and more. It's a good suggestion, but we all know what can happen to the best laid plans.

We are familiar with the quote from Robert Burn's poem, To A Mouse, that says: The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.' The quote came into common use after the publication of the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck in 1937. That quote can be applied to the plan of a writer. 

The reality is one of ups and downs from start to finish. Things like the writing feeling flat, characters not appearing real, characters not interacting with one another very well, impossible happenings popping up, time frames not working, and on and on. We run into problems whether writing a full-length book or a shorter piece. Do you throw up your hands and walk away? 

That might be helpful for a short time. Let the piece of writing sit while you do something else, whether for an hour, a day, or a week. When you come back to the story, you might see it with different eyes and find a way to fix whatever was wrong. 

Fix one problem, and another arises. What to do? Fix each problem as it comes up. That's probably easier than to wait until you've written a full draft of your book. Going back at that point might seem overwhelming. Of course, there will be little things you want to change once the first draft is finished. Every writer approaches the writing of a novel in a different way. If waiting until the draft is completed works for you, then do it. If working out solutions to problems a little at a time feels better to you, then do that. 

The main thing is to know that writing a book, or a short piece, is not without problems. Rare is the writer who writes a first draft and calls it finished, ready to submit to a publisher. Meet those problems with a positive attitude. You can usually find a solution to whatever is wrong if you don't let anger or frustration get to you. If those emotions rise up, walk away for a while. Come back when you're calmer. 

What about the writer who has little self-confidence? Those hills and valleys of problems might feel even higher or deeper to them. They might have a little more trouble working out the problems, but they can do it.

Meet the problems you encounter when writing with a positive attitude and some self-confidence. It helps.

Mechanics of Writing--Boring But Necessary

 

This is a repeat post from 2016. Still pertinent to today's writer. 

Proper mechanics of writing--people notice when it's poor

I have seen many writers, especially those relatively new to the field, who have great story-telling abilities, but they seem to have either forgotten or never learned the basics of writing. Remember those--the boring stuff? Oh yeah, lots of you thought English grammar, punctuation and word usage was the most boring subject in the world. Well, perhaps it is for a good many people but it's also very important. Doing it right makes you a polished writer.

I must admit that I sometimes cringe when I read posts on facebook that are filled with bad grammar, abuse of tenses, miserable punctuation and more. I know what you're thinking--What does it matter? It's just someone making a comment on a post or posting their own news. Well, people--I happen to think it does matter. If a child reads a book filled with poor mechanics of writing, and yes they are out there, they sometimes do get published--they will take it for granted that everything is just as it should be. 

How often did your parents or teachers urge you to set an example for others with your behavior? It's the same with the mechanics of writing. Set an example for others. 

Notice that the books pictured here are for grammar school kids. Yep, that's where we all first learned these building blocks of writing but a lot of people seem to forget all that once they grow up. 

So, what do you do if you need to brush up on your mechanics? You can't slip into a sixth grade classroom and soak up what the classroom teacher says. This time, you're on your own. There are books and online sites that can help. Use your favorite search engine to find. Purchase a book that you can refer to when you're not sure about a grammar question. Most of these books and online sites have exercises to re-enforce the lesson. Do them! Do them every time. We learn as children through repetition. Guess what? We learn through repetition as adults, too. 

Don't overlook the helps you have whenever you write a story, article or poem on your computer. They're sitting at the top waiting for you to make use of them. They aren't going to jump out and grab you. It's up to you to learn how to use them and then do it on a regular basis. On every post I write, I use spellcheck. I find typos more often than actual misspelled words but I sure am glad I find and correct before publishing the post. 

I've heard people claim that they never really learned all that 'stuff' in school. If not, that's too bad, but you can still learn now or brush up on what you absorbed all those years ago. 

Review the mechanics of writing. Pay attention to spelling, punctuation, tenses, and word usage. Work on being a polished writer if you want your work to shine when you send it to an editor.

By Nancy Julien Kopp  - January 05, 2016 2 (original publication date) 

The Timid Writer

 

Recently, I played a Marathon Bridge match with my partner against two other women. For those who don't play Bridge, a marathon is a group of teams, two people on a team. Each team plays someone different every month in fall, winter, and spring. The women we played yesterday are what I call 'timid bidders,' They could have had a much bigger score if they had been a bit more aggressive. Some, of course, want to play it on the safe side, so they won't get a penalty. But taking a chance can often reap benefits. It'a personal choice.

Some writers are timid about trying to get published or to share their work with others in any way. It's understandable in the early days of writing, although there are newbie writers who are so excited that they want to share everything they write with everyone and submit to myriad publications. Their balloon is often deflated when they don't become an overnight sensation. Hopefully, they figure out that writing is hard work, and that writers become better at the craft as time goes on. 

But back to the shy writer. She/he lacks self-confidence, just like some bridge players. She/he fears she/he isn't  very good. She/he cringes at the thought of criticism, constructive or not. We need to have an attitude about criticism of our work that allows us to see the help being given, and to know that it is not a personal slap in the face. Sadly, some writers consider it exactly that. Learning not to fear a critique is a big step in the life of a writer. 

Putting your work up for critique is one way of improving as a writer. It's necessary to convince yourself that those who critique your work are trying to help you. Hopefully, they point out the parts they like as well as those that need revision. We all enjoy some compliments now and then. Even little things we change can make a big difference in the overall piece of writing. We need to heed what those other writers tell us.

Being afraid to submit what you've written is another problem, especially for newbie writers. Not only do they wonder if what they've written is good enough to be published, but don't want to put themselves in a spot to be rejected. "Hey, if I don't submit my work, no one can reject it." Probably true, but it won't get you very far in this writing game--if your aim is publication. 

Not all writers have the goal of publication. Some write for the sheer pleasure of putting words on paper, or on a screen. Maybe they keep a handwritten journal that no one ever sees. It's personal and private. Like those diaries that young girls kept in my growing up years. They usually had a lock on the cover, and the girls kept the key hidden. Those locks were so flimsy, it would not have taken much to break them. Still, the thoughts the girls wrote were private. 

Emily Dickinson published only a very few poems while alive. It was after her death that a family member found dozens and dozens of her poems in a drawer and worked to get them published. Rather sad that the poet did not realize how well her poetry would be received. Was she a timid writer? Perhaps. 

Do not be concerned that others will find problem spots in what you write. If you put your work out for critique, that is exactly why you are doing so. You're asking for help to make your story, or whatever it is, as good as it can be. Do not be afraid to submit your writing for publication. All writers get rejections, over and over. It's those acceptances that make us smile and are to be remembered. 

My aim here is not to criticize any writer (or bridge player!). I always hope to be of some help, to allow writers to see where they might improve.