Category: philosophy

When and Where?

People like routine, whether they admit it or not. Writers are no different, often choosing the same places and times to do their work.

I like it quiet, though I have proved I can write amid distractions. For the best efficiency of time and effort, I write when I won’t have interruptions. I find I do most of my writing when my daughter is napping and my husband is at work.

Research happens anytime I get a chance and can take notes. A lot of times the TV is on. For those of you who don’t know, my husband watches a lot of TV. I rarely pay much attention to it, though my comprehension is enough I can tell you the main storyline most times. My hands prefer to be busy, whether typing or knitting or rolling a ball back and forth with my daughter.

I have a digital recorder in my car that I sometimes use to capture ideas in the car. There are also notebooks stashed around the house and in my purse. I have a slush pile file where I keep ideas in case none of that is handy in front of the TV. (Often it isn’t anymore- a stray notebook is fair game where my daughter is concerned. She also loves to take my pens or crochet hooks and crawl/walk off with them.)

I’ve never been one to wander into a coffee shop and make a silent corner my writing home. Sometimes I listen to music, but many times it’s difficult to match the project to the soundtrack. And the wrong soundtrack throws off the entire project. At this point, it would be harder to take off and have someone watch my daughter than just try to make the most use of her naps. She also plays pretty well by herself sometimes if I’m in the middle of something big.

I can’t take that for granted, though. When she’s awake she can get into everything (!) – so we generally are in very close proximity and attempting to fold laundry rather than letting me write.

Last time she ate half a PB Twix candy bar. And loved it. Three minutes can make a difference, which is why the scissors, pens, and other potentially dangerous items are all out of reach.

And why I write during naptimes, after bedtime and, if I manage, before she wakes in the morning. Several people have recommended that I get up before she does, but if she’s up a lot at night (like last Saturday she had me up between 12:30 and 3 am, as in, I was up the entire time) I simply cannot wake before she does at 6:30 or so.

I’m just glad it doesn’t happen much. And I do get time to write. I make time for it.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

Write What You Know

While this advice is almost a cliché, it is also true. Most of us write what we know, or we learn about it well enough to fool most, if not all, readers.

I know two people who write with characters in the military. One of them is ex-Navy. The other has a mother who retired from military and is a volunteer for Soldier’s Angels, among other things. Both have knowledge beyond the layperson, and neither has a problem letting me know if I make a mistake.

Not that I write about the military, but if I did, I’d run it by them for critique.

Science fiction has a basis in fact, but any time you run into an alien civilization or culture, we lose most places where we can reference something. And it has to be human, in some way, shape, or form. A science fiction writer must abide by the known science at the time, but after that he’s free to build whatever or whomever he wants.

I miss the days of Martians. So many of the classics I read have them featuring prominently.

The question then runs – what about fantasy writers? What is it about them that gives us a reference to write about dragons, vampires, or magic? These things have never been proven to exist… Proven being a key word to use. I suppose no one can prove without a doubt that there is a god out there, either, yet religion thrives outside the fantasy field.

Is it a coincidence that L. Ron Hubbard, science fiction writer, also created a religion? Or is it simply something that stems out of the mind of an extremely creative person to get others to buy in? Did he believe any of it, or did he just build it and they came?

I forgot who said it recently, but an agent asked at a gathering where the speaker was telling the hapless authors to give credentials about their work, what credentials gave her authority to write about vampires? She never got an answer. The speaker changed the subject. Lovely.

What references can I provide for my science fiction and fantasy forays? I love to imagine what isn’t there. That served me well as an engineer to design new products and redesign to improve existing ones. It also lets me paint pictures with words of things no one has imagined yet. I’m not going to put that on my fiction cover letters, though.

Posted on by ransomnoble 2

Weekend Downtime

Every time I visit my in-laws I am taken entirely away from the computer for a weekend. It’s nice to get a break and play with the kids. (I only have one, but there are also two nieces and a nephew.) My husband’s sister and I play games usually. My oldest niece is getting to the age where she can play quite a few with us, too.

However, it’s odd to not check email or blog. However, those two activities become so difficult when the only computer connected to the internet is located in the baby’s room. So either she’s awake and wanting to play, or she’s asleep and I don’t allow anyone (even me) to go in there and disturb her!

It gives me a good excuse to catch up on my knitting during the evenings when we chat or read during the mornings before anyone else is up. That doesn’t happen that often, but the option exists if I wake early enough.

I also get four hours each way in the car. Necessities for car travel include the iPod for listening to music, since we take my car with the booster seat, rather than my husband’s car with XM radio where we would have to switch the seat.

I also feel like I’m behind every time we go away. The laundry has to be done before and after, and while it shouldn’t be anything extra, it seems like it is. I dash around figuring out everything we need to take with us (the husband packs for himself, but I manage for the baby and me). I always forget something at home and something there. Usually it isn’t important enough to ship, but I don’t know how I can go through all that and miss things.

I suppose I ought to give myself permission to not have it all together. Perhaps next time.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

Random Blogger

It’s no secret I freelance sometimes. Depending on the topic and my interest level, blogging for others is a lot of fun.

The research takes a little time, but it’s great to learn something new. (Who, me, like to learn?) Then the blog post pours out of somewhere. Usually it flows easily. I’m not one to write 6000 word mammoths, sticking very close to 300 words for the most part. Perhaps I’ll begin working on lengthening my attention span per topic.

It may not be the most lucrative hobby, but anything fun can’t be bad.

Sometimes I look at those blog for money sites, like ProBlogger. I mean, it seems like a good idea, but does it work? I suppose I might try it sometime, once I finish another novel or something.

The novel really is the focus of my work these days, outside of being a mother and wife and all those other things I do: teaching, tutoring… It never ends.

It’s all about doing what you love, right? The sayings abound- do what you love and the money will follow and do what you love and never go to work again.

Of course, if that was true, parenting would be a paid career posting, rather than paying out your nose for the privilege of parenting.

Money isn’t everything. If cliches are so good at saying what we mean, why can’t we write with them? I guess we need more ways to express our creativity.

Until the next novel, I suppose I will just keep randomly blogging. Not so random here as me, but randomly for others. And learning tidbits that might make it into other stories, where those bits of knowledge of music, beer, and golf come together.

At least it hones my writing skills in some ways, plus research. There are much worse things I could be doing with my [spare- ha!] time.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

The Little Engine That Could

My mother brought a copy of this book for my daughter. I’m glad to share with her books I loved as a child.

The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper, is a great book to help anyone know that they can do something only if they try. The mantra of the Little Blue Engine is “I think I can – I think I can!” all the way up to the top of the mountain.

Do you ever wonder what you can do, if you just think that you can?

A lot of people tell me I do a lot of things. Okay, I do. Is it because I have superhuman abilities? Haha, I wish. Sometimes I wonder if I get things done because I think I can squeeze them in.

Somehow, I think I can squeeze in some time to learn Mandarin, and the time is there. I think I can squeeze in time to write a novel, even after having a child, and I managed a rough draft in about seven months. I think I can scale buildings in a single bound!

… Wait, I still haven’t managed that one.

I enjoy reading the book to my daughter, though. One day she may attempt things just because she thinks she can. It might even be because of this book we are reading together. Then again, it might also be due to me not letting little things like time crunches get in my way.

What obstacles threaten what you want to do? Can you get rid of them?

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

Basic Skills

How often, as adults, do we get tests of our skills?

I’m not necessarily talking about the things we do for a living, though as a writer I get my English tested every time I chat with a copy editor friend of mine. (Thanks, Sarah.) I’ve also played Brain Age and Big Brain Academy. The nice thing about those games is it doesn’t feel like you’re stretching your brain while you play.

But since Sarah moved to Germany, I no longer get to IM her constantly when I have a grammar question or ten. English grammar really isn’t that easy. Sure, there are other sites I can go to that will tell me where to use a semi-colon or how to spell a word.

Some of those sites even offer quizzes, but while it keeps your skills up it doesn’t exactly offer a baseline on knowledge. It’d be the same answers if you took it tomorrow, so how else do we make it random?

I started wondering because, since I tutor, I’m taking the practice exam to be ready to help a couple students through it. It’s definitely an odd feeling to be re-taking it after all these years. I wonder if it will correctly identify how well I’ll do my first year of college now…

Yeah, I doubt it, too.

“Use it or lose it” is a common phrase. So if we don’t use that wonderful knowledge we used to know, it’s gone, right? Kind of? I always heard the half-life of knowledge is four years. [Provided you don’t use the skills.] So, after four years, you know half as much as you did. After eight years, you know a quarter. After twelve years, you’re down to one-eighth.

No wonder I recall very little French. I studied that sixteen years ago, and it really doesn’t come up often. Chemistry, on the other hand, I have studied more recently, plus I get to tutor the subject. A lot of it is now close to the forefront of my mind.

Does it help me write? I’m not sure. But an active mind keeps thinking, and my mind turns it into creative something-or-other.

I’m still on the lookout for more things to soak up, knowledge-wise. Stay tuned for more random knowledge-builders. (And don’t be afraid to link some for me in the comments.)

Posted on by ransomnoble 2

Focus

It’s something that seems to be lacking in me these days.

I just want to do it all. And sometimes I don’t see anything wrong with that.

But it’s also good to evaluate goals at different points to understand where the progress is going. Or if you’re making progress at all. Or if the goals still mean something.

It doesn’t work to put all your effort into something that you decide isn’t important.

So, what’s the most important thing? Don’t Tell Your Mother is what I want to finish this year for writing projects, which is why I have the rest of the things on hold. Even if they keep beating my brain trying to get out. I’m taking notes, but that’s all.

Hoping they’ll be a little quieter if I’m firm in my focus. The goal is still important to me! Just hang in there, help me rewrite my novel, and I’ll get to the rest of you crazy novel ideas.

I just don’t think they’re listening to me.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

Series Incongruities

I’ve been reading books by Scott Westerfeld: Uglies, Pretties, and now halfway through Specials. I like the world he’s created for Tally Youngblood and her friends, and it shows her character changing throughout the three books.

But I also noticed the little bit about SpagBol, his word for Spaghetti Bolognaise dehydrated, then re-created with a purifier.

In Uglies, Tally runs out into the wild with a bag created by [evil] Dr. Cable, and every single packet of food in her bag was SpagBol. After that, she’s had trouble looking at it. Can’t blame her, since that’s all she ate for three meals a day for a few weeks.

In Specials, Tally reacts to another character eating SpagBol with some revulsion. Months have passed since Uglies, but this is still a strong reaction.

So why does Tally have SpagBol in her own hand-packed bag when she escapes to the wild in Pretties? And why doesn’t she react when, admittedly another character, eats it?

Those kinds of questions sometimes keep me up at night. I found the little inconsistencies even toward the end of editing The Art of Science, and I hope to find them all with my current projects.

I’m only human, though. I must take into account that I will not fix everything, even if I have help.

Scott Westerfeld couldn’t find all the tiny details with all of Simon Pulse behind him. It wasn’t a pivotal point. It was just part of the minutiae.

I’m sure a series bible would help, but it’s also difficult to accept that as a writer I might not be able to create a perfect story. I suppose I’ll just hope enough people read it to discern the things I missed.

We all do the best we can. I’m loving the books in spite of that – extremely small – detail.

Posted on by ransomnoble 4

Today’s Topic: HTML

Oh, I’m not sure why I haven’t really picked this up yet. Right- I haven’t really built a web page.

Sure, there was that one, way back right after I got married, that my friend built. But I only got the pictures together and provided captions. The two girls with me worked on scanning them and putting them together on a pretty page to share.

Definitely not the way to actually learn how to do it.

I’m finally sitting down with books and other resources (an online writer friend/recovering enginerd and w3schools.com) and putting things together in my head. It really isn’t that hard. I’m actually enjoying it.

Why? Doesn’t everyone need a website at some point? I might hit that point, and I’d really like to see if I can manage.

I also don’t want that to get in the way of the writing, but the writing has been on a precipice for awhile. My goal of creatively putting it off until the pressure builds into a necessity is slowly gaining speed. I’m thinking about my current project more, and the pieces have been falling together.

I have no idea why this strategy works so well for me, only that it’s doing its job to refocus me for what I really want to happen to the book.

It also helps that I have a tutoree or two in my target audience right now. I do the typical adult responsible thing with texting to give the proper info, and I get a one-word reply.

It makes me smile and think of Ethan and all the new and improved obstacles I’m going to throw at him. Let’s see if he makes it through all this unscathed!

I love pouring on the drama, as long as it isn’t my life the drama’s going to seep into. All right, I’ll admit it. I only love fictional drama!

Posted on by ransomnoble 3

And on to the next outline challenge!

Why? I finished my 15-20 word outline for Don’t Tell Your Mother. It turned out as 18 words and focuses my intent more.

It also changes my draft quite a bit now that I’m getting into the third. (I think it’s the third draft. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track.)

It’s in a good way, though. I had been trying to get there, but something kept stopping me. I’ve been having issues putting my inciting incident into a short bit of words. A phone call took me to the heart of it.

I love how the brain swirls into something you’d forgotten you were thinking about. Perhaps that’s just me.

So with my new, short outline, I will be fixing my longer synopsis. Then I’ll be ready to dig into Chapter 3 and beyond!

Of course, Chapter 2 needs a few more shades to get there. Maybe I ought to start there first.

I think I’ll decide after I fix the synopsis. Priorities, y’know.

Not too long after that I will be able to figure out what to do with those two short outlines I also finished for yesterday. Both have working titles and one has a strong main character who has made herself known.

I can’t hide from them forever.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0