Writing Workshop?

Today starts the writing workshop that I was supposed to attend in June. (There were two sessions and the first one didn't have enough attendees so I decided to go to the one this month.)  I'm supposed to go with a writing idea, manuscript, or outline, pen and paper to take notes and a dictionary.  I've got my dictionary.  My Webster's New Pocket Dictionary.  (I wasn't about to drag along the unabridged, although I was tempted to take the Dictionary of American Idioms or my M-W Compact Visual Dictionary.) I also have my dictionary app on my phone (very handy).  I have my notebook and paper.  That was probably the easiest thing to come up with.  But then I got to the part where I needed to bring "an idea, manuscript or outline."  Oh I have ideas.  I've got about a hundred floating around inside my brain.  I've even got a few manuscripts (should I take my laptop - I'm thinking maybe).  I even have a printed manuscript (my proof from my NaNoWriMo book).  I have my current Camp NaNoWriMo manuscript that I could work on (but I'd probably blush every time I had any "naughty bits" to read).  Why does it have to be this confusing? 

So I've decided to take my laptop, my proof, and my memory stick.  I'll have pen and paper and probably a nervous stomach because I don't know what I'm walking into.  Wish me luck.  And I'll report back on Monday how the weekend goes. 

Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

I read this book a couple of months ago, but never reviewed it.  Since I am still reading the book I was last week (got distracted by a couple of projects) I thought I'd take the time to review this one. 

Room by Emma Donoghue is a contemporary novel written in a very unconventional way.  They story is a sadly familiar one.  A young girl is kidnapped and held as a sex slave to a heartless and ruthless man.  We've seen this story in the headlines over the years and it is very sad.  What is sadder is that this story includes another victim.  A five-year old boy named Jack.  This is his story, not his Ma's story.  The narrator of this book is Jack and I found him to be a sweet endearing boy who only understands that his entire world is a room the size of an average child's bedroom (about 144 square feet).  This is all Jack knows of the world. 

There are parts of him that remind me of Samson.  He's never cut his hair, so this young boy has very long hair. And he believes he has the strength of a thousand men even though he clearly understands fear, he is willing to put it aside for his Ma.  However, I don't believe he truly gains or understands his strength until he cuts his hair.

And then there's Ma to consider.  Ma has spent the past seven years as a prisoner to Old Nick.  She has done everything she can think of to protect Jack from Old Nick and to protect Jack from the small world in which he was born.  She uses all her energy and all her strength until it gets to be too much.  She suffers from toothaches and headaches and clearly depression.  She's at the mercy of Old Nick to give her the things she needs, knowing what it will cost her.

As depressing as this book seems, there is hope in it.  There is perseverance.  There is love.  It is such a well-written book, that I almost believed at times that the book was really written by a five-year old little boy who had always been kept in a small locked cell for his entire life.  I enjoyed watching Jack explore his world and describe it.  There were times that I was angry with Ma because of the lies that she told Jack, but I questioned what I might do in the same situation and realized it would be much the same.  I would tell lies to my child in order to make sure he felt safe and loved. 

This book has been out for a while and I'm glad to see that it is still a popular read.

Currently reading:  The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Tour de Fleece

It's July and for millions of people around the world it means it is time to check daily to see how the Tour de France is going.  Who's ahead?  Who's wearing the yellow shirt?  How the heck do they endure it day after day through mountains and valleys and in rain and heat and sleet (remember that year)?  For over 4,000 knitters this month also means that it is the annual Tour de Fleece.  We spin our fibers as cyclists spin their wheels.  It's kind of the same except without the mountains or hills or long exhausting hours.  If we start to get a blister we stop.  If we get hungry we go get a piece of cake.  to tired to even get out of our jammies, we just spin in our lovely sheep festooned pajamas.  Yep.  It's grueling I tell ya. 

The premise is that you set a goal for yourself and spin every day that the race is happening.  I decided to spin for 10 minutes a day at a minimum.  I've spun a total of 9 grams so far.  It may not seem like a lot but considering I don't spin all that often and I'm using my lovely Trindle to do so, it's a big step for me.  I love my Trindle.  It spins fabulously and my spinning is getting more even each day.  Yesterday I only dropped the spindle twice while spinning. 

The fiber I'm using is a wonderful merino and bamboo blend that I picked up at Stitches South last year.  It looks a whole lot like cotton candy with its pale blue and pinkish lavender colors.  (Xeno cat can attest that it doesn't taste like cotton candy).  It drafts so lovely and is going to be gorgeous once spun and plied.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it will be something people will be able to see easily (so not socks).  I'm thinking a scarf or hat.

It may not be as challenging as riding a bicycle for 3600 kilometers, but when we get to the end we will have more to show for it than a silly yellow shirt.  And the really cool thing is that everyone is a winner.  I like that kind of world.

10 on Tuesday: Herbs

Today's 10 on Tuesday challenge is to name my 10 most favorite herbs.  There was a time when herbs and spices were considered two distinct things.  Spices were generally aromatic plants that were generally ground or grated when used in cooking whereas herbs were used whole or cut and were from leafy sources.  Think the difference between cinnamon and oregano.  Today, however, the word spice is used interchangeably for any plant-based material that is used in cooking.  You don't go to the grocery store and see an herbs and spices section.  It is simply labeled Spices.  So here is my list of my 10 must have "herbs."

1. Pepper  (I don't know how a kitchen can function without pepper (allergies aside))
2. Cinnamon (This is a necessary ingredient when making snickerdoodles, so one must have this spice)
3. Ginger (I know I use this on a weekly basis)
4. Basil (Lemon basil is probably my favorite of all, but I'll make due with regular sweet basil)
5. Oregano (You can't have Italian without it and basil and garlic, but mostly Oregano)
6. Thyme (We always need more thyme, time?)
7. Mint (Peppermint mostly, but I love growing chocolate mint because when it rains my front step smells like a York Peppermint Patty)
8. Rosemary (I think this is actually my most favorite herb ever)
9. Lavender (Although I don't cook with it often, I use it mostly for aromatics although I do have a fabulous recipe of lavender cookies and have added lavender water to cake frosting in the past)
10. Lemon balm (Again I use this more for aromatics than cooking.  I just love the way it smells)

Red, White and Blue

Today is Independence Day in the United States.  The celebration of the birth of our nation.  Our declaring that we are a free and sovereign nation.  Together, in one very big loud voice we declared that we were going to take no more.  We were bold and wrote a letter declaring that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I love my country, don't get me wrong.  There are just some things about my country that we are still working to get right.  We still haven't perfected that whole unalienable rights and life, liberty and pursuit or remember that those are only among our unalienable rights, not our only inalienable rights.  We also tend to forget that our Declaration of Independence is not our governing document.  That would be the Constitution of the United States.  Two separate documents.  Two separate functions.  Although it saddens me that our Constitution sometimes forgets the principles on which we based our independence.

What does this day mean to most people?  Wearing a flag on their chest, putting up little rows of flags along the edge of their yard, barbecue, beer and fireworks (please don't mix those last two).  People play patriotic music and watch movies that are reminiscent of "Go go USA."  My middle child will be watching Independence Day, the Will Smith movie with aliens.) No.  The other Will Smith movie with aliens.  No no.  The Will Smith movie with aliens where he punches one's lights out.  Yep.  That one.)  I bought it for her this past year when she was frustrated that no network was playing it on July fourth.  We are grilling burgers after I get home from work (yep, I get to work today).  We may or may not go watch some fireworks.  Most likely we will  sit at home wishing that our neighbors would remember that fireworks have been banned this year because of the drought (only official fireworks are permitted).  And because it is my family and we are weird that way we will have an open discussion on what it means to have freedom.  I'm always interested in my children's viewpoints.  They are quite refreshing and enlightening.

So it is Independence Day.  The Fourth of July.  The President of the United States is alive (despite the Fox Twitter feed last night that was hacked into).  Our service members are working hard to assure our freedom (and the freedom of other people).  The sky is blue (at least for some of us).  The world is really a good place to be.  So go out and pursue a little happiness today.  (And if you must go into a retail business, be kind to those who are working so you can enjoy your day off.)

Cucumbers

I love cucumbers.  There is something wonderful about them and I never quite could figure out what it was I loved about them until I read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.  Towards the end of the book the Dena moves to Egypt and she has cucumbers for the first time.  "But best of all were the cucumbers, the most delicious food I could imagine, green and sweet.  Even in the heat of the sun, a cucumber kissed the tongue with the cool of the moon. I could eat them endlessly without getting full or sick.  My mother would love this fruit, I thought the first time I bit into its watery heart."  Isn't that perfect? 

I can eat cucumbers right off the vine.  I can eat them with our without their skins (although my preference is without, especially for commercially grown cucumbers that tend to have tougher skins). Cool or room temperature.  It doesn't matter.  A cucumber sandwich is wonderful with just a very thin  swipe of mayonnaise and layered on white bread (although it is acceptable on wheat bread).  The less you do to the cucumber the more I like it. 

There are three main kinds of cucumbers: slicing, pickling and burpless.  I don't normally care for the flavor of a burpless and if you don't want to burp after eating cucumbers then don't eat the seeds.  But that's my favorite part.  Cucumbers have been grown as a crop for over three thousand years.  Someone had a good idea with that.  They are a fairly easy crop to grow unless you have squirrels who also think that cucumbers are tasty eats in which case you have to hover over your garden night and day with a threatening look on your face (not that my threatening look scares many squirrels much less my own children). 

If I have to do something to my cucumbers I do very little.  This is my favorite cucumber recipe:

Summer Cucumber Salad

4-5 regular cucumbers
2 t. dill weed (fresh is better, but then I always think that fresh is better)
1/2 c. sour cream

Wash, peel, quarter and slice the cucumbers.  Mix with the dill and sour cream.  Let it sit in the refrigerator for several hours.  (If you are going to a picnic or party, make it the previous day).  Serve.  It will serve about eight, but often times I have found people want this very difficult recipe.  Why?  Because it is so simple and fresh.

It's summer, so go eat a cucumber!

A bit on self-publishing

Yesterday I reviewed a book that was self-published.  I currently have on my Nook several self-published authors.  I have nothing against self-publishing and there are a few of my books that I have toyed with self-publishing.  In today's world there are some great resources for self-publishing that make it truly affordable.  Create Space is one of many print-on-demand services that has very little initial outlay of money to publish your book.  They have paid services as well such as cover and interior design options, editing (from copy editing to full-blown editorial editing) and even marketing tools. There are also several e-publishers including Barnes and Noble's new Pubit! (their exclamation point, not mine) where you can create an account, upload your book and have your book available to Nook owners around the world.

I have wishy-washy feelings about self-publishing.  On one hand self-publishing allows the average person the ability to put their toils and tribulations into a book format.  I actually have a paperback copy of my last NaNoWriMo book (courtesy of being a winner and getting a "free" ARC of my book - It wasn't truly free as I did pay for the expedited shipping.)  It's really cool to hold your own book in your hand.  To see your name printed on the title.  To flip through the pages and smell your words.  It's really really cool.  As a former librarian and current bookseller I get such a giggle out of seeing "my" ISBN  on the back. (Although if I decide to have this traditionally published I know that the number will change, but I have an ISBN!) I have pet my book, stroked its lovely cover and carried it around with me.  It's my first book baby and it makes me feel like one of the Big Kids in the writing world.

On the other hand though, even though I have done copy-editing in the past, I still find my work littered with errors.  I find grammar blunders, misused words and spelling blunders.  You know what those are.  Those are the words that are spelled correctly but aren't the ones you mean.  In one of my books I have a character whose name constantly comes up as Any rather than Andy.  Spell-check doesn't catch those worse because Any is a real word spelled correctly.  It's just not Andy's name.  It won't catch the stupid mistakes like "They're" and "Their" or "moot" and "mute" or "could have cared less" instead of the correct "couldn't have cared less." 

On the other hand (now do you see why I chose Kali for the picture today?), self-publishing can boost your self-esteem, especially if you have been toiling for years trying to get your work published.  You know it is a good story.  You know people will love it.  You are confidant that your work is solid.  You can't find someone who will take a chance on it though.  So you do it yourself.  Market it yourself.  And you love what you have created.  You have a tangible (or digital) book that belongs to you.  It is your book forever.  And people can (and probably do) read it.  You are an Author now because you have a book to prove it.  Ha! Take that publishing world!

Yet on that other hand, there is something about needing the strokes from a Real Publisher to make one feel that they have triumphed.  It's really cool to have Harper Collins or Scholastic or Random House or Penguin or Little Brown (or one of their many smaller houses) printed under your name on the spine.  How fantastic to have that little Penguin flapping its little wings on the spine.  Traditional publishers will generally help you market your book and they can get your book into a lot more hands than you can on your own.  They can send to the mass market book sellers and go to ALA and Book Week and RWA and Comicon and all those really cool book venues.  They make your book look not just like a book but like a Real Book.  It will look very polished and professional.  They will use unique photography that will get people's attention (and hopefully they won't use a similar photo the same year as a different publisher used for a CS Lewis book).

On that (what are we up to now?) fifth hand having a self-published book that does well can help you get your foot in the door to a Traditional Publisher. (We really shouldn't think of self-publishers as not being real.  They are real.  They are really publishing books, but they aren't what we have come to think of as traditional publishers.)  If you show that you have done your market, taken your licks, worked your way through the publishing world on your own and have a book that has done moderately well, that can all make an impression on an agent or editor.  I've even talked to self-published authors who have had an agent or editor contact them after reading one of their books.  That's pretty darn cool. 

Yet (and you knew there was going to be another hand in all this) there are still traditionalist Traditional Publishers who scoff and dismiss those who haven't written the prerequisite nine thousand eight hundred fifty-seven query letters and received six thousand five hundred one rejections (because the other three thousand three hundred fifty-six query letters went unanswered).  They don't care how witty or charming or influential your writing may be.  You didn't go about it the Real Way so therefore you aren't worthy of their time.  OK, so the majority of agents and publishers aren't really that bad, but there is a bit of prejudice in the publishing world against self-published authors.  Go to a writer's workshop and raise your hand when they ask if anyone is published.  When they ask you who your imprint is and you say, "Create Space" eyes will roll.  "Oh, you are one of those writers." They won't even use the word Author associated with you.  It's as if you haven't earned the title. 

Now I'm going to say the part that makes almost everyone groan.  Do your homework.  Whether you are self-publishing or writing your next query letter, do your homework.  Find out who your audience will be.  Find out more about the publisher or agent or editor.  Make sure there aren't any hidden fees or clauses.  Know everything ahead of time.  Don't go blindly blundering into your mistakes.  Take time to really know your craft no matter how you choose to publish.  Make sure your manuscript is as polished and flowing as possible.  Just because you threw up words on a page does not mean you have written a book.  A book tells a story or gives us information in a clear and concise manner.  Make sure you actually have a book before you publish it.  Even if you do it yourself.