Bernice Simpson: Cat in the Corner

Meet Nicodemus Dartmouth

2013-08-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

I don't know who to blame: Blogger for not allowing me to post pictures, (although I've done it before) or my lack in keeping up with Blogspot's changes. Either way, this dull explanation is sitting in for the picture of author Phyliss Miranda and the hot cover of her latest book. You can see the pictures that I'm unable to copy at Phyliss Miranda's website: phylissmiranda.com. But first, learn what my guest blogger has to say about her character, Nicodemus Dartmouth. -- Bernice Simpson

Meet Nicodemus Dartmouth

Phyliss Miranda

I’m honored to introduce you to Nicodemus Dartmouth, my hero, in my September 5^th eKensington release The Tycoon and the Texan.

Before we begin with the interview, I’d like to give you the background on both how I selected the plot and Nick’s last name. I truly believe it was a gift from above.

My husband and I have friends who we've know for over forty years and vacationed with since their boys and our girls were young.

In 2002, my DH and I were on our way to meet them in Florida when we received a call, thank goodness for cell phones, that Harry had emergency heart surgery. He was in a coma, and the future was uncertain. We immediately turned our car north and headed for Dartmouth Medical Center where he laid critically ill for weeks. We were determined not to leave until he and Pat were safely home under their own roof. And, that we did.

One day while sitting in the waiting room, my attention was drawn to a show on TV, you know the ones up in the corner of the room you have to crane your neck to see and can barely hear, that pertained to a foundation’s auction of bachelors for charity. That seeded the idea for a story about a strong, multi-millionaire who ends up buying an ugly duckling at his own foundation’s charity ball. Of course, she had to be from Texas, and his name had to be as strong and willful as my character, so Nicodemus Dartmouth was born.

Now nearly ten years and many vacations together later, my story The Tycoon and the Texan came out recently and needless to say, I dedicated it to our dearest friends.

Let’s get on with learning more about Nicodamus Dartmouth. I’m gonna let him tell you about himself first, and then he’ll answer questions if you care to post them.

I don’t really like being referred to as a tycoon because I see myself as just another hardworking man in his 30’s. I have to admit being a product of a wealthy, widowed mother, who I don’t always see eye-to-eye with, did have its benefits. I worked my fingers to the bone to establish one of the largest construction firms on the west coast, while being CEO of Mother’s charity ... the Elliott-Dartmouth foundation. I own a Double A baseball farm team and love to workout with my players. Mother is pretty well appalled when I show up at the office with bloody road rash showing threw a tear in my baseball pants. By the way, Josie, the Foundation Director and mother hen, thinks I belong in the dog pound. I have one supporter in the organization, well most of the time, and that’s McCall Johnson, who used to be my secretary at the construction company until I transferred her over to the foundation when I found myself crawling up twenty stores of red iron thinking about her.

Now back to the charity auction that Phyliss mentioned. Mother thought it was a grand idea to auction off bachelorettes, while I told her from the start is was a bad, really bad idea. She called me into the office to go over the final arrangements, including the table decorations. I need to be out at the construction company offices arranging for a shipment of material we don’t need to be shipped to Habitat for Humanity, but no I’m standing here looking at a bunch of flowers stuffed in a vase. I won’t even tell you what I think about them because Mother sure didn't approve of my description.

The auction was a nightmare, just as I had predicted, although it raised a lot of money for the foundation ... a good bit coming from me.

The jinks I apparently put on the event began when one of the bachelorettes called in sick and our resident Texan McCall Johnson was forced to step in. In an unexpected turn of events, and I have to admit a bit of jealousy on my part to boot, I ended up paying what McCall called “a vulgar” amount for a week long date with her.

That began our adventures ... seven days to Texas.

I wanted so badly to show her that our lives weren't that much different, but at every turn, I hit a roadblock. From nearly cutting my finger off trying to prepare dinner on my private boat for her to seeing a ghost on Harris Grade coming out of Lompoc, California, something got in my way of showing her that I don’t get everything I want, although she thinks I do.

It took me the full seven days, plus some while visiting her Granny’s ranch in Texas, but I finally succeeded at showing the independent, spirited, uprooted Texan that our lives aren't as different as it might seem, only to find that we are more alike than I ever dreamed ... including our secrets.

I hope you’ll go buy The Tycoon and the Texan by native Texan, Phyliss Miranda, so you can learn more about me and Miss McCall Johnson. By the way, if I have my way, she won’t be a Miss much longer.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Phyliss Miranda is the author of six historical western romance anthologies and her contemporary romance The Tycoon and the Texan is scheduled to be released on September 5, 2013, with her second eBook The Troubled Texan due out early 2014. Phyliss is the 2007 recipient of Panhandle Professional Writers’ Writer of the Year award. She enjoys sharing her love for the new frontier, particularly the Texas Panhandle, the Civil War, quilting, and antiques; and still believes in the Code of the Old West.

Visit her at phylissmiranda.com

2013-07-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Reading recommendation:

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze

Author: Peter Hessler

Harper Collins (2001)

An American’s Observations in China

At first, artful prose, flowing like a river, draws readers in, and then it grips them with a sense of urgency. In River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Peter Hessler’s audience must experience the author’s unique take on Fuling’s local color--what he has seen and what he has felt. It’s almost as if Hessler’s words promise a firsthand account of the demise of the last specimen of an endangered species.

In fact, geographically, Fuling, in China’s Sichuan province, at the fork of the Yangtze and Wu Rivers, was an ill-fated city. Soon part of it, along with centuries of history, would suffocate under a lake created by the Three Gorges Dam. Hessler was one of a dozen or so foreigners allowed into the area in more than fifty years. As such, he would be among the few Westerners to gain a glimpse of it before the great rush of water would push the entire region into a new era.

“I had never any idealistic illusions about my Peace Corps ‘service’ in China,” said Hessler. “I wasn’t there to save anybody or leave an indelible mark on the town. If anything, I was glad that during my two years in Fuling I haven’t built anything, or organized anything, or made any great changes to the place. I had been a teacher, and in my spare time I tried to learn as much as possible about the city and its people. That was the extent of my work, and I was comfortable with those roles, and I recognized their limitations.”

Fortunately Hessler also recognized the importance of first preserving, and then sharing his impressions of the region. Perhaps he left no permanent marks on them, but they leave an indelible mark on those who vicariously join the author in his quest to understand the Chinese people, and especially residents near the fork of the Wu and Yangtze rivers.

Despite Fuling’s 200,000 population, it is a small city by Chinese standards, and the area considered rural. That is the least of the contradictions Hessler encountered.

Hessler’s students represented the region’s best, yet were not affected with self-pride. They spoke of admiration for rural culture, hard work, and the peasant’s life; yet they looked forward to a future different from their parents. “They were never suspicious of impossible tasks” writes Mr. Hessler. “The students would work at anything without complaint, probably because they knew that even the most difficult literature assignment was preferable to wading knee-deep in muck behind a water buffalo.”

A cultural plurality shows up in the writing of Hessler’s students. Aware of the suffering endured under Mao Zedong’s rule, students generally spoke well of him. One wrote, “One flaw cannot obscure the splendor of the jade.” Another defended him: “No gold is pure; no man is perfect.”

But that mindset also precluded honest teacher/student discussions if Hessler, their foreign teacher, moved to the slightest criticism of anything Chinese. As a group, his class, the region’s scholastic stars, would turn stoic. “Whenever that happened,” Hessler laments, “I realized that I was not teaching forty-five individual students with forty-five individual ideas. I was teaching a group, and these were moments when the group thought as one, and a group like that was a mob, even if it was silent and passive.”

During Hessler’s two years in Fuling, the British lease on Hong Kong expired, The Chinese government loosened its grip on the economy, encouraging a form of capitalism, and the Three Gorges Dam neared completion. Communities prepared for modernization to be made possible by reliable electric power and better control over the Yantze’s flood cycles.

But in China modernization does not mean Westernization, culturally or politically. “In the end,” said Hessler, “Fuling struck me as a sort of democracy—perhaps a Democracy with Chinese Characteristics—because the vast majority of the citizens quietly tolerated the government. And the longer I lived there, the more I was inclined to see this as the silent consent of people who had chosen not to exercise other options.”

Isn’t that an interesting perspective on what Americans call a Communist dictatorship? Read River Town to gain your own perspective of the book Kirkus Reviews described as “a vivid and touching tribute to a place and its people.”

Carbon Dioxide

2013-07-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

Call me a tree hugger--I don't mind. I like trees. I like the idea of not wasting our resources, and doing what I can to protect our planet for another generation to enjoy.

I also like coal. A chunk of coal is really just a diamond that hasn't had a chance to mature, isn't it? Maybe not. I'm not a scientist. I do believe coal keeps our industries going, and I admire the miners who are brave enough to bring the stuff up out of the earth.

My point is, to quote author Jodi Thomas, "there's a flip side to everything." So for those of us who sometimes tip-toe to avoid leaving whole footprints on this earth, read this the article below (forwarded to me in an email by my cousin). If you disagree with Mr. Plimer's premise, you can add your voice to the many who fish for facts to prove their opinions. -- Bernice W. Simpson

Where Does the Carbon Dioxide Really Come From?

author’s credentials:

Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist, professor emeritus of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne , professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide , and the director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies. He has published 130 scientific papers, six books and edited the Encyclopedia of Geology.

Born

12 February 1946 (age 67)

Residence

Australia

Nationality

Australian

Fields

Earth Science,Geology, Mining Engineering

Institutions

University of New England,University of Newcastle,University of Melbourne,University of Adelaide

Alma mater

University of New South Wales,Macquarie University

Thesis

The pipe deposits of tungsten-molybdenum-bismuth in eastern Australia(1976)

Notable awards

Eureka Prize (1995, 2002),Centenary Medal (2003), Clarke Medal (2004)

Where Does the Carbon Dioxide Really Come From?

Professor Ian Plimer could not have said it better!
If you've read his book you will agree, this is a good summary.

PLIMER: "Okay, here's the bombshell. The volcanic eruption in Iceland . Since its first spewing of volcanic ash has, in just FOUR DAYS, NEGATED EVERY SINGLE EFFORT you have made in the past five years to control CO2 emissions on our planet - all of you.

Of course, you know about this evil carbon dioxide that we are trying to suppress - it’s that vital chemical compound that every plant requires to live and grow and to synthesize into oxygen for us humans and all animal life.

I know....it's very disheartening to realize that all of the carbon emission savings you have accomplished while suffering the inconvenience and expense of driving Prius hybrids, buying fabric grocery bags, sitting up till midnight to finish your kids "The Green Revolution" science project, throwing out all of your non-green cleaning supplies, using only two squares of toilet paper, putting a brick in your toilet tank reservoir, selling your SUV and speedboat, vacationing at home instead of abroad, nearly getting hit every day on your bicycle, replacing all of your 50 cent light bulbs with $10.00 light bulbs.....well, all of those things you have done have all gone down the tubes in just four days

The volcanic ash emitted into the Earth's atmosphere in just four days - yes, FOUR DAYS - by that volcano in Iceland has totally erased every single effort you have made to reduce the evil beast, carbon. And there are around 200 active volcanoes on the planet spewing out this crud at any one time - EVERY DAY.

I don't really want to rain on your parade too much, but I should mention that when the volcano Mt Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it spewed out more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the entire human race had emitted in all its years on earth.

Yes, folks, Mt Pinatubo was active for over
One year - think about it.

Of course, I shouldn't spoil this 'touchy-feely tree-hugging' moment and mention the effect of solar and cosmic activity and the well-recognized 800-year global heating and cooling cycle, which keeps happening despite our completely insignificant efforts to affect climate change.

And I do wish I had a silver lining to this volcanic ash cloud, but the fact of the matter is that the bush fire season across the western USA and Australia this year alone will negate your efforts to reduce carbon in our world for the next two to three years. And it happens every year.

Just remember that your government just tried to impose a whopping carbon tax on you, on the basis of the bogus 'human-caused' climate-change scenario.

Hey, isn’t it interesting how they don’t mention 'Global Warming' anymore, but just 'Climate Change' - you know why? It’s because the planet has COOLED by 0.7 degrees in the past century and these global warming bull artists got caught with their pants down.

And, just keep in mind that you might yet have an Emissions Trading Scheme - that whopping new tax - imposed on you that will achieve absolutely nothing except make you poorer. It won’t stop any volcanoes from erupting, that’s for sure.

But, hey, relax......give the world a hug and have a nice day!"

Superstores Versus Neighborhood Supermarkets

2013-05-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to know how much grocery shoppers save at WalMart compared to their neighborhood supermarket. Or is there a difference?

Apples to Apples

I randomly picked and then made a list of a dozen grocery items to compare. Three were in the produce departments: apples, spring mixed salad greens, and slicing tomatoes. I was surprised to see two United Foods employees checking produce prices. “We do this every week,” one told me.

I'll come out ahead at WalMart I thought, especially when I noticed apples for 99¢ per pound. Wrong. Later at home, comparing pound for pound and package for package, United’s produce cost 3¢ less than Walmart’s.

Who has the crème de la crème?

United also undercut WalMart on Plains Dairy whipping cream by 9¢. But it wasn't easy to compare other whipping cream brands. WalMart handles Gandy’s, while United Foods stocks Red River Farm’s whipping cream at 2¢ more per 8-ounce carton.

Two cents makes little difference between products, but quality does. I recently bought a carton of Red River Farm’s whipping cream, and had to use scissors to open it. How annoying when trying to make supper in a hurry. It’s also potentially dangerous. A person using a knife to pry the spout open could slit a hand open instead. In reporting the defective packaging problem on United’s Website, a glitch prevented my sending the message. More time wasted. I phoned. United’s phone rep apologized, but

didn't ask for product identification or batch numbers. Strange.

What is Service Worth?

On the other hand, United Food’s store employees make up for the unprofessional telephone worker. They excel in service. And what’s that worth? A panhandler approached me in WallMart’s parking lot today. With a strong employee presence at a United Foods facility, would that man have been so brazen?

All in All

Differences between the two store’s grocery prices balanced. I purchased a number of generic products and plan taste tests. That may be the subject of another blog.

Exactly What We Needed

2013-05-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

Why do you write? For me it’s such fun to be curious about everything, and satisfy that curiosity while actually working. For example, I learned Chris Stewart, who spoke at the Panhandle Professional Writers’ (PPW) meeting yesterday, is a member of the Order of the Coif*. What’s that? The question nagged me until I looked it up.

Despite all the information offered by the World Wide Web, I've frequently had questions which remained unanswered although I typed query after query into internet search boxes. If you follow my blog, you know about one dilemma I faced when I wanted to share the humorous “A Jolly Good Dime” with you. I couldn't find the author.

Thanks to Chris Stewart, the roomful of writers who attended PPW’s meeting yesterday have guidelines for the attribution of “orphaned” work and a lot more.

Chris directed his message to those who post messages and pictures on the internet, writing hobbyists, and authors who write for financial gain. As always, he peppered his information (he’s a living glossary of publication terms) and cogent advice (“Read contracts carefully.” “Know your rights.”) with entertaining anecdotes. If you want a taste of his humor, read Tootsie Rolls and Cockroaches on his blog: www.christewartlaw.com/blog.

While you’re at his website, look over the list of presentations he’s made. If your organization or enterprise blogs, has a website, sends out a newsletter or e-zine call Chris Stewart. He’s not a pep rally-type speaker full of enthusiasm, but void of substance. But your audience will have fun while they gain useful information.

*The Order of the Coif is… Well, why don’t I avoid copyright infringement, and let you look it up.

Opinions Wanted

2013-05-12T21:31:00.000-07:00

If you've been accused of being opinionated, writers want to hear from you. Tell us what you like, and/or what you don't like about our blogs or website content. If you find an error in our work, please let us know so that we can correct it.

But it's better to say nothing than to pan books in print. One reason--why waste your time reading a bad book? Cecil Murphey (of 90 Minutes in Heaven and many more) said once the book is bound, no matter who messed up--the writer, editor, or printer, it's too late to change it.

If you enjoy a book, send the author a note. Better still, tell the world about it. Writing is a tough business, and writers truly appreciate your help. I found Dianne G. Sagan's "how to" advice on her blog, and have copied it with her permission.

Dianne, known for her well-researched historical Christian fiction, writes on numerous subjects, and presents workshops on writing and other topics.

--bws

How to Write a Book Review

Posted on April 13, 2013 by diannegsagan

Do you ever wonder what the best way is to support your favorite authors? Of course, purchasing books, reading their books, and telling your friends about them is the best way of getting the word out.

Another way of showing your support is reviewing the books you read. When you purchase a book from Amazon or Barnes & Nobel online there is a place for you to write a short review. Goodreads.com also provides a place for reviews. Most readers don’t leave one because it intimidates them. People think that there are certain requirements you must have to be a book reviewer. Not true any more.

I’d like to give you some tips on how to write a simple, short review that is easy and only take a few minutes of your time. You can read the book in print form and put a review online whether you bought it online or not. Fear keeps us from doing a lot of things. Don’t be scared of writing a review.

Some suggestions:

The theme represents …
I enjoyed the story because …
The relationships between characters demonstrated …
It is well written …
My favorite character …
The story is well researched …
Read some of the reviews posted for examples and write one in your own words.
A review does not have to be only positive statements, but can include points that you feel are negative. Just be sure that you stick to the subject and the writing, do not get personal about the author.
If the writing is not professional, then it is alright to say that.
If the research in a historical novel is obviously well done, then mention it.
It can be a great story that isn’t told very well.
Tell whether you like the book or not.
Would you recommend it to others?

I hope this helps take some of the anxiety out of writing a review. I am sure your favorite authors will appreciate your support.

Animal Stories

2013-05-08T18:27:00.001-07:00

Blue Mountain Lake in Arkansas is a place to relax, take long walks, and read. While my husband fished, I read three books last month—all relating to animals.

Orphan by Harry Haines, a fellow club member of Panhandle Professional Writers, has been on my reading list for five years. One aspect I found fascinating was how Harry intertwined local history and the business of quarterhorse racing into his novel’s plot. Author Diane Mowery, who homeschooled her youngsters, mentioned a fact not often included in book reviews: although the book is targeted to an adult audience, she can recommend it to teenagers. Here’s a suspense novel free of vulgarity and expressions that offend readers with religious values.

When our precious KittyCat died, my friend Suzi gave me and my husband Aubrey a copy of the book, Dewey: the Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. That same day I gave Aubrey Going Home: Finding Peace When Pets Die by Jon Katz.

I can’t say Going Home met expectations. It has not lifted the grief that has lingered for more than three months. But at least now I understand it.

You may have heard of Dewey, the library cat. Although he died in 2006, Dewey’s fame continues to flourish through his image on postcards, jigsaw puzzles, and especially sales and circulation of the book, Dewey: the Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. It’s a moving story about a bedraggled kitten, rescued by librarian, Vicki Myron, after being left in the book drop of her town’s library.

Spencer, Iowa, was in the throes of an economic downturn when Dewey, almost dead, arrived on its library scene. Beginning with newspaper coverage of the contest that gave the kitten his official name--Dewey Readmore Books—the orange tabby garnered publicity.

As Dewey’s popularity increased among library patrons, the library evolved from a book warehouse to a community’s gathering place. His entertaining personality helped to revive the spirits of area residents fighting for survival in hard times. Stories about Dewey spread, at first from library newsletters to newspapers to national and then international media.

As an international celebrity, Dewey proved to be an economic asset as well. “When Dewey died in 2006 at the age of 19, his obituary appeared in over 250 newspapers, including the New York Times, USA Today and the Des Moines Register, and was announced on the national television evening news.”—www.deweyreadmorebooks.com.

“We still have 3 people (Kim, Joy and Paula) that worked at the library when Dewey was here. I was actually here the day he came,” said Kim Peterson in an email.

The sale of bookbags and other “Dewey” merchandize helps support library programs. Spencer’s adorable library cat continues to draw interest—daily emails, said Ms. Peterson, and “a few phone calls a month.”

Beach reading season is almost here. You can purchase the books through most book sellers or borrow them from many public libraries. All three books are available for loan from Amarillo’s public library system. Dewey (I give it two thumbs up) is also on a CD.

Simply Satisfied: How to Resolve Simple Consumer Complaints

2013-05-05T22:13:00.001-07:00

Pure serendipity. That’s the only way I can explain finding A Jolly Good Dime last week when I intended to write “How to Write a Complaint Letter,” but had only a disorganized outline for the subject. And that’s still the case. Hopefully next month ....

For now, let’s start with the simple complaint like finding a dime in a package of frozen green beans. When Pat Edwards wrote A Jolly Good Dime, most complaints sent out of town were delivered by the postal service. Unlike 1978, companies today encourage consumers to call their toll-free numbers.

Since I've actually been paid to make complaints on behalf of others, I feel comfortable coaching you on the subject. And learning to make an effective verbal complaint is good practice in learning the basics of a written one.

Preparation

Have paper and pencil ready before you dial the number. Since the number is often hard to see, write the company’s phone number on your paper. If calling about a packaged product, note the product’s identification number—the tiny digits under the bar code.

If you have the receipt, clip it to the note, and highlight information company reps often ask for—date purchased, price, store name and location.

If you are angry, cool off first so that your attitude is professional. If diplomacy is not your forte, check a thesaurus to help you find appropriate words or phrases to express the problem. If the smell of a can of soup told you it was not safe to eat, there’s no need to say it smelled like an outhouse or wet stray dog. “Unpleasant odor” will do.

Be ready to describe your complaint. Did you try something for the first time, and simply experienced dissatisfaction? What did you expect from your purchase? What exactly displeased you about it?

Did foreign matter in a food product alarm you? Be sure to keep anything like that, even if it’s made more gross by spitting half chewed contents of your mouth into a plastic bag. The company may want their lab to examine it.

Its often helpful to peruse a company’s website before calling them.

Know what you want in the form of a resolution. A simple thank you for contacting or an apology? Product replacement? You may be happy with a coupon for one of their other products.

The telephone call

If the laws in your locale permit it, record the call. As a communicator, it’s good to have recordings for self-critique. Also if you ever need it, you have the word-for-word conversation with voices as well as proof of any long, annoying waiting times.

If an actual person answers the phone, and especially if done in a timely manner, express your appreciation for telephone courtesy.

Briefly say you have a comment about their product, and want to speak to someone in quality control. You may need to answer questions in order to be connected to the correct person or department. Be sure to follow your answers with queries as to who your call is being transferred to, correct spelling of that person’s name, and extension number. This will save you time should a disconnect occur.

Introduce yourself, and get the name and position of the new person you are speaking with.

Begin with a positive. Things you might mention: how long you've used a product or items in that company’s product line, the easy navigation of their website, the courtesy of the receptionist.

State the purpose of your call—your product expectations and in what way they were not met. Do not exaggerate.

Results

Typically companies will thank you for your business, and offer to send you coupons to replace the defective product.

Typically.

The handling of more complicated complaints will be the subject of a future blog.

A Jolly Good Dime -- reprinted

2013-04-28T19:23:00.002-07:00

No blog for a month? Blame the IRS. And then my husband wanted me to go camping with him. I'm not sure which is worse--poring over accounts that refuse to balance or sleeping in a tent.

Back to work, but this weekend I spent unproductive writing time on the Internet's rabbit trails. I landed in plenty of interesting places, but none that added much to my article's subject. So I'm cheating. The following, published in 1978, by a person named Pat Edwards (I'd love to know which one) deserves an audience.

Title: A JOLLY GOOD DIME
Author: Pat Edwards
Publication: Women's Circle: Home Cooking--The National Women's Home Cooking Club
Volume 6, March 1978
(c) 1978 by Tower Press

A Jolly Good Dime

[To] Jolly Green Bean Company

Lesser, Minnesota 54836

Gentlemen:

Last night I found a dime in a package of your frozen green beans. I feel it is my duty as a consumer to inform you of a flaw in your quality control system.

Yours very truly,
Mrs. Sam (Sally) Adams

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

[to] Mrs. Sam Adams
14 Gunero Circle
Lafayette, CA 94528

Dear Mrs. Adams:

As the general manager of the Jolly Green Bean Company, I want you to know that we are truly story for any inconvenience caused by the dime in the beans. To thank you for calling this problem to our attention, I'm sending you by refrigerated truck two cases of our famous Jolly Green Frozen Beans.

Jolly yours,
Alan G. Hitchcock, Mgr.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

[to] Mr. Allen G Hitchcock, Manager
Jolly Green Bean Company
Lesser, MN 54836

Dear Mr. Hitchcock,

Thank you for the two cases of Jolly Green Beans. Unfortunately the 48 boxes of frozen beans wouldn't fit into our small refrigerator freezer section, so the Alberts next door are keeping 12 boxes, the Mortons up the street have 6, the Hines across the street graciously took 8, the Lanes in the next subdivision accepted 9 and we crammed the rest into ours. I only wish my family really liked green beans!

Since no one actually swallowed the dime, no harm was done. My husband suggests perhaps your employees were tossing coins to see who could get one in the box. Just a little joke there.

Yours truly,
Mrs. Sally Adams

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

[to] Mrs. Sally Adams
14 Gunero Circle
Lafayette, CA 94528

Dear Mrs. Adams:

I am enclosing a copy of our new recipe book, "Jolly Good Bean Recipes", which I feel you need. Our company doctor, Bernard Fitch, has assured me that had someone actually swallowed the dime it would most assuredly have gone through the digestive system. Now if it had been a half-dollar…. But that is another problem. I am also enclosing a copy of our plant rules for your husband. He will please note that it strictly prohibits gambling of any kind.

I believe that takes care of everything. It has been most interesting corresponding with you.

Jolly yours,
Alan Hitchcock

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

[to]Mr. Allen G Hitchcock
Jolly Green Bean Company
Lesser, MN 54836

Dear Mr. Hitchcock,

All's well that ends well as my aunt Gertrude used to say. I thought you'd want to know that our church, St. Paul's, is having a ham dinner to raise money for the new swell for the organ and I contributed all the frozen beans. The "Jolly Good Bean Recipes" cookbook says they go well with ham. Do you think I should tell them about the dime?

Yours,
Sally Adams

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Mrs. Sally Adams
14 Gunero Cir.,
Lafayette, CA 94528

Dear Mrs. Adams,

I am enclosing a check for $50 for your swell organ at St. Paul's. I do not believe it is necessary to relate the dime incident to the congregation.

Jolly well,
Al Hitchcock

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Mr. Al Hitchcock
Jolly Green Bean Company
Lesser, MN 54836

My dear Mr. Hitchcock,

God bless you. And God bless my son John, who took a look at that dime I didn't swallow and says it's a genuine 1908 Denver minted-Lincoln worth $1,500. We're on our way to a jolly vacation in Hawaii and this is the last time you'll jolly well hear from me.

Aloha,
Sally Adams

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Sage Searching, Sage Advice

2013-03-31T00:29:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday I copied Rory C. Keel’s article, “Word Count.” Why? He presented information fiction writers need, and did it in a straightforward manner.

Tonight Google proudly announced over 31,000,000 results for my search on “sage plant.” I’ll bet half of those are ad sites. Or worse—pages of so-called facts backed up with anecdotal reporting instead of hard evidence.

Even more frustrating to me is suffering through the jargon of studies conducted by reputable labs, only to learn important details are missing.

For example a study a decade ago touted sage for increasing memory and concentration. What kind of sage do I need to ingest to turn back the clock on my once-good memory? I could fill an acreage with sage, and never plant the same type twice.

Today in searching for the United States army’s study on sage as a brain booster, I failed. I wanted to know which, if either of the two sage plants in my garden would produce the memory miracle. And I had more questions. What part of the plant do I use—leaves, roots, flowers, stems—what? Then what? Do I make an infusion and drink it instead of my afternoon tea? And what plant parts would go into the infusion? Maybe I need to add its leaves to salads, or garnish plates with its blossoms. I do know the powder I season our Christmas turkey’s stuffing with affects nothing in my head except taste buds.

If you believe Internet posts though, a specific type of sage can buzz your brain. According to the Urban Dictionary, a type of salvia (sage) is legally available in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It’s a hallucinogenic, and evidently instructions on how to use it come with the plant. My brain says the badly written article is a hoax. How could anyone who writes so pathetically understand “how to use it” written instructions?

For about $10.00 at www.thegrowers-exchange.com you can purchase a plant called white sage that the USDA endorsed for its medicinal qualities. Surely instructions somewhere advise an eczema sufferer how to relieve their rash with it. Maybe the information on how to use the herb for treatment of acne at www.livestrong.com would work. That site also suggests a link between sage oil and word retention. But it sounds like ingesting sage oil could be worse than smoking the plant's leaves.

Undoubtedly writers scramble for words at times. Once again, my research did not produce facts I’d hoped to find. Memory boosting aside, all was not lost. The Growers Exchange advertises a pineapple sage. “Pineapple Sage makes a wonderfully light sweet ingredient. The flowers look like Honeysuckle and are lovely in salads and fresh fruit dishes.” Another site suggested the blossoms add a novel culinary touch when frozen in ice cubes.

Now that's a tidbit of information worth filing, especially for writers. If you can spare the words, add interest to a character who grows pineapple sage for the sole purpose of impressing her guests with water or lemonade enhanced with its flowers.

H-m-m -- Rory C. Keel gave you a list of standard word counts to guide you. Here's more sage advice. Roam the Internet's rabbit trails to discover unusual bits and pieces that enliven your prose and make your words count.

Rory C. Keel: Working for You

2013-03-28T17:59:00.001-07:00

Rory C. Keel did the research for writers who need a target length for a particular project. His article, Word Count, published on The Wordsmith Six's blog, gives statistics fiction writers should be aware of. The list taped to our computers can remind us to write tight.

Mr. Keel is a member and past president of Panhandle Professional Writers. Learn more about him at www.roryckeel.com.

Word Count

Rory C. Keel

As writers, it’s easy to become absorbed in our writing. We are the defenders of our plot and characters, sometimes to a fault. We create new worlds and imaginary realms where the impossible becomes possible, where truth and justice prevail and love conquers all.

But then there’s reality.

When we pitch our project to an agent or publisher one of the first questions asked is, “What is the word count?” As the writer it may not matter, after all, it’s the story that counts, right? However in publishing it means Money.

It is estimated that for every 10,000 words over the stated guideline of a publisher, it could equate to a ten percent increase in publishing costs.

While researching word counts for my writing projects, I have found the following basic word counts to be a standard measure in the industry.

Chapter book (6-8 yr.) 5-25,000 words

Middle reader (8-12 yr.) 25-40,000 words

Young adult (12-18 yr.) 40-75,000 words

Novelette 7,500-20,000 words

Novella 20-30,000 words

Short Contemporary 50,000-60,000 words

Long Contemporary 70,000-80,000 words

Short Historical/ Mainstream 90,000-100,000 words

Romance novel 90,000-100,000 words

Long Historical/Mainstream 108,000-120,000

Remember, these are averages and the submission guidelines for your particular agent or publisher should be the final say.

No Snow Job

2013-03-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

Residents of Amarillo, Texas want moisture. We'd prefer a gentle soaking rain, but we'll even rejoice if it snows on Easter morning. How much do we want? A friend said "we'll praise the Good Lord for whatever He sends us."

A Canadian by birth, I was tempted to repeat the old adage "be careful what you wish for." The next day my brother Bill, sent me this reminder of Winnipeg, Manitoba's snowstorm of the century.

He said in his email: "Bernice, you were in Texas, so you missed this storm."

As I continued to read, I realized, despite the dry Texas air, there's nothing I miss about Manitoba's winters.

All these years in Texas, I've laughed about letting kids off school on "snow days." Growing up, I'd never heard of such nonsense. But the storm of March, 1966 shut down schools, and nearly the entire city. Driving snowmobiles (and those vehicles were not numerous back then) the police pulled toboggans behind them to transport doctors to emergencies.

When the snow stopped, youngsters, who could get out of their homes, reveled in the snow, sliding down the drifts, pelting each other with snowballs, and playing until their mittens were soaked or they were exhausted. The next week, "kids had fun climbing up the snow banks onto the roofs of the school (it shows this in the pictures.)"

Even as the sun shone, the infirm, the elderly, and single mothers with young children rang emergency numbers for help. My brother, with friends and shovels loaded in his car that had been parked near a main street, went to a dozen homes with supplies from emergency centers. In most cases, their first job at the addresses was to shovel the drifts from doors that could not be pushed open from the inside.

My favorite anecdote from Bill's account was his telling about his car accident. "A week later using my car for work," he writes, "I moved over to let another car go by in the single lane on the street, and moved into a snow bank. Unfortunately there was still a car underneath all that snow."

People are more important than cars. I'm glad Bill had something solid under his wheels.

Bill said more in his email, and expressed it with more eloquence and greater emotion than my second-hand job does. But since I wanted to let my readers see a newscast without my infringing on their copyright, I had to give you a heads up before presenting this link.


  http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=877426&playlistId=1.1181312&binId=1.816090&playlistPageNum=1

The Artful Fast Track

2013-03-26T01:21:00.002-07:00

You’d like to crank up your creativity, right? So would I. And that’s why my blog on writing is a day late. I've spent hours reading. Searches: “Creativity” AND …

Affirmations, biofeedback, brain games, day dreams, emotions, guided imagery, hypnotism, intuitive training, meditation, mind exercises, mind science, mindfulness, self talk, visualization. I watched videos of “experts.” I checked credentials, clicked on “related links,” and made pages of notes.

Affirmations or self talk (click here to read my weblog on the subject) help you maintain a positive mindset. Don’t expect them to turn you into a Leonardo da Vinci, but they can protect you from a hard landing if you hit a slump.

“Hypnotism works.” So state the ads and the outdoor business sign of a local hypnotist. I know of people who quit smoking after one session with a hypnotist. Recently, I tried it for pain management. Despite no insurance coverage to defray the expense, I had considered my choice a better route than pain pills. Results: thumbs down for me, but it could work for someone else. If I ever have a few extra C-notes, I’d love to learn first-hand about how well hypnotism raises my level of creativity.

Susan Gold (www.susangold.net/hypnotherapyforwriters) “enjoys using hypnotherapy to help writers reach their potential and to achieve their goals.” I found her “Using Guided Imagery to Overcome Creative Blocks” interesting, but doubt I’ll check her site again.

A practicing Christian, I have reservations about Ms Gold’s use of Tarot cards to help writers discover inspiration—even if it works. In 1980-something, I read Constance Cumbey’s book, The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow,” a commentary on the New Age Movement and its practices. I've never seen a set of those cards, but prefer to avoid the tools used by tricky fortune tellers.

Along the same vein, I’m wary of growing my creative output by having conversations with imaginary animals in an envisioned forest. That is another problem solving technique Constance Cumbey railed against. Today I found it suggested in an article on how to increase intuitive/creative thought.

Mrs. Cumbey threw the baby out with the bathwater when she nixed the value of everything from simple daydreams to hypnotism. I believe guided imagery, mindfulness, visualization, and related subjects deserve investigation, for learning relaxation skills, if nothing else. Constant stress and productivity are not good partners.

Studies cited on the internet, however, deserve your skepticism. When writers with impressive degrees and high-sounding credentials quote promising statistics, look around their websites. What are they selling? Are the books offering you a stellar future truthful?

I searched. Some websites do tell the truth. We didn't become who we are in a blink. Certain mind exercises can help accelerate our creative growth. Growth is change. Therefore, there is no super charge for our creativity, because change takes time.

PPW's Scrapbook Memories

2013-03-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yellowed newspaper clippings, newsletters, photographs, and more, trace two decades of Panhandle Professional Writers' history. Thanks to Nancy Rantella, Jim and Ellen Richardson's daughter, they will soon be available for all to view.

The group, founded in 1920, and known as PPW, was named Panhandle Pen Women. In the late 1980s the name changed to Panhandle Professional Writers, but not because all members were suddenly published. As former "men only" clubs opened their membership to women, the writers wanted to admit men into the organization, but keep the initials, PPW.

Quaint. That word struck me when I looked at an announcement produced on a Mimeograph machine. The membership directory (55 members in 1981) and copies of numerous documents were typed in Courier 10 or 12, the primary choices of the day. Colored photographs taken in the 1970s have lost their brightness, but I was surprised at the color retention in two Polaroid photographs taken in May, 1981.

By 1990 membership had grown to 107--nearly double of 1980, and its directory sported an updated look with a card cover bearing an illustration by Lillian Terrill. The newsletter, once a typewritten sheet of announcements, became The PPW Window, and, thanks to the computer, it looked professionally done in the 90s.

Probably what will pique the interest of older PPW members are first the pictures, and then the writing or artwork of past and present members. Do you remember Jodi Thomas and Ivon Cecil when they looked like teenagers? Were you acquainted with Sarah Allman, Doris Crandall, Ellen Richardson, and Juanita Roberts? They, along with members still paying dues today--Helen Leuke, Harry Haines, and others are all part of the recently found archives.

Pages from the 1970s. That will the subject of a future blog.

When All's Said

2013-03-18T00:37:00.004-07:00

Speakers tend to collect quotations. It’s a sign of respect when quoting someone, to state where you heard or read a person’s comments. In the political arena, this courtesy is violated so often, an entire industry devotes itself to fact-checking. Too often fact checkers report a quotation was taken out of context, or twisted into what amounts to a lie, or actually is a lie. It’s so common that we hear people confess with the euphemism, “I misspoke.”

Don’t assume an audience, jaded by their knowledge of speakers’ deliberate lies and half-truths, will believe you. Offer proof. If practical, hold up a book, state its title and show marked pages when you quote an author. Offer handouts with citations listed. For references on creating a citations handout, type bibliography or citations in a search box. The Purdue Owl (Online Writing Lab) is good, but you’ll find so many choices, it’s dizzying.

Your handout, properly done, will not only add to your credibility, but also to your professionalism.

It’s impolite to bore your audience with lengthy quotations. Paraphrase. If compelled to quote a long passage word for word, include that in your handout. But be aware of the “fair use” clause in copyright laws. Crediting an author does not give you the right to copy and distribute their work with abandon.

In presenting material, talk. That’s what a presenter does. Use visuals only as necessary. For example, the use of illustrations in a discussion of historic architecture would be appropriate, and perhaps the only way to clarify a point,.

If you must say it in pictures, make sure you have the right to use another’s artwork or photography. Look for “exceptions” on websites that offer free use of artwork. “Free” might apply to non-commercial use only. Think about it. You did not receive compensation for a speech, but gave the presentation in an effort to build your reputation as a speaker. Isn't that advertising? Isn't that commercial?

Think about this: you worked hard to prepare a presentation, and you engaged your audience. You fulfilled your purpose to teach, entertain, or inspire them. In crediting others for their artistic work, you've gained a reputation for integrity.

When all’s said, members of your once-jaded audience will respect you and recommend you to their associates. You'll discover the best quotations to collect: customer's endorsements.

The Fisherman's Wife - A Review

2013-03-14T22:37:00.001-07:00

Lent is an appropriate time to slow down and reflect on the story of Jesus. This year I decided to turn from text-like studies and relax with a Christian novel. For me, the obvious choice was Dianne G. Sagan’s The Fisherman’s Wife.

The chapters are short, ideal for tucking one or two between morning devotionals and the start of my workday.

That was my plan, but before I knew it, I’d turned about fifty pages, and later, with a few chores complete, I reheated my coffee and read the book through its Afterword.

The storyline mixes the well-known Biblical account of Jesus, his ministry, crucifixion and resurrection with a fictional version. Perhaps vision is a better word than version. Ms Sagan’s vision of Biblical times delves into the day-to-day lives of people who knew Jesus of Nazareth.

We meet Johanna, who with her mother, listen to a conversation between her father and a friend. The two men who haggle over Johanna’s dowry don’t consider love as a factor. Custom does not permit interference from Johanna when her father holds firm to the bride price the other man says is too high. Within a short time, Johanna’s emotions jump from despair at the thought of not sharing her life with the man she loves to ecstasy. Johanna and Simon will marry in a year.

Celebration defines the mood of the next several chapters except for a reminder of the times. The Jewish people are controlled by King Herod, a puppet to Rome. The ever-present Roman soldiers, even when unseen, cast a pall on the inhabitants of Capernaum.

Despite Roman occupation, these God-centered people continue their religious culture, as well as customs passed down through generations. Curiosity about those customs may be what initially keeps the reader turning pages.

It is obvious that Ms. Sagan has thoroughly researched her material. We join the wedding preparations and celebration. Later, we walk with Johanna, her sister and mother to the market who, like shoppers today make purchases, and also admire goods displayed for wealthy patrons. As we see women carry on with their daily responsibilities, we identify with these hard-working, faithful women. Although they lived in another era, human emotions remain the same.

Deeper into the story, we understand their fear of the Roman soldiers who will crucify a dozen innocent men in retribution for one act done against them. They will kill an entire family for the suspected misdeed of one member or one member’s friend.

Johanna had witnessed their cruelty first hand. But seeing their gruesome acts was only one of Johanna’s nightmares.

As years pass, Johanna a once-joyful bride grows sullen. Will she ever know peace again? Shamed by birthing still-born children, how will she pull her marriage back together? How will Simon provide for his family if he continues to experience a poor fishing season? What will happen to Simon if the Roman’s arrest him for associating with Jesus, a man they call a zealot? How will she survive?

The Fisherman’s Wife is an excellent commentary on the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, as well as a story of imperfect people whose faith wanes and swells, and eventually sustains them.

Dianne is presently working on a third in her series about women in biblical times. Learn more about Dianne and her writing at dianne.sagan@wordpress.com and flashfiction5.com.

Pocket-Sized Tutorials

2013-03-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

In How to Get Happily Published, Judith Applebaum says, "[good writers] are apt to go through several books and magazines a month and pick up pointers on style, organization, point of view and the like…." The how-to of gleaning those pointers is the subject of Francine Prose's acclaimed text, Reading Like a Writer. Following her guidance, you can expect to achieve writing excellence. It sounds good, except she advises that you immediately read more than 100 titles. Unfortunately, at the "close reading" (therefore, s-l-o-w) pace she recommends, the glaciers would melt before you digested half the list.

To read like a writer makes sense, but if time constraints prevent your analyzing a library of classics, consider reading like a writer – on the run.

First, assemble study materials – an assortment of used books, magazines, and newspapers. Used? Yes, and cheap, so you'll feel free to mark pages with abandon. Next, choose any book, and pull it apart into sections, or tear an article or two from a publication. Fold the pages to purse or pocket size, and you're ready to turn spare moments into writing lessons. As time avails, read, all the while marking words and passages that reinforce past learning, or teach you something new.

Circle strong verbs, and unfamiliar words, as well as particularly descriptive words or phrases.
Print "R"in the margin beside passages that indicate the author researched the subject, or conversely, "R?" where you question material presented as fact.
In nonfiction articles, notice quotations and their purpose. For example, does the author use a quotation to reinforce a stated opinion? Write "Q" beside all passages that contain quoted material, both direct and indirect. Hopefully, you'll find time to analyze them later.
Similarly, put an "A" beside each anecdote. Notice how the author leads into it. Like quotations, anecdotes can be used for a variety of functions. For example, one anecdote may support the author's point of view and/or work as a transitional paragraph, while another is simply included for interest.
To study mechanics, highlight all punctuation marks on page. Do you agree with how they were used?
Beef up your spelling. Redline words that represent your spelling demons.For example, are you troubled by the suffixes -er and -or? If hyphenation gives you grief, observe words formed with prefixes. In no time you'll imbibe the correct spelling of nouns like afterthought compared to compound adjectives, as in the phrase "after-dinner speech."
Examine dialogue, underlining each character's words in a separate color. How does the author create different voices?
Put a smiley face by smooth transitions between paragraphs, end of chapter zingers, an author's segues from the present to background material and back to the present, and so forth.
Ask yourself questions, and scribble brief answers. What held your interest… or lost it? In How to Get Happily Published, Judith Applebaum says "writers often stop to examine each powerful passage…to figure out how it achieved its impact." She suggests three techniques to watch for: "a succession of startling images, a change of tense, a panoply of facts."

After you've squeezed all the good you can from one piece, file it and select another. When you read with purpose, you can turn poems or prose – from lengthy novels to brief advertisements – into teaching tools. It's simply a matter of observation, curiosity about writing technique, and a desire to improve your own work.

Life Katas -- by Diane Mowery

2013-03-01T14:16:00.001-08:00

My daughter, Sarah, takes karate and will soon be awarded her brown belt. In the process she has learned over twenty katas. A kata is a pattern of defensive and offensive moves memorized and practiced in sequence. Watching katas is like watching military moves choreographed into dance. I see how katas are useful for learning karate, but I wondered how useful they are in real combat, especially when an opponent cares nothing about karate.

Sarah’s instructor is also a police officer, so I asked him: “How useful are the katas to you when you are on the street in hand to hand combat with a criminal? You could hardly follow a whole sequence through, so how does it help you?”

“Oh, it’s everything when in combat. Because my mind and body are trained in katas I don’t have to think about what to do next. My body goes into each move that is needed and adjusts to my opponent’s moves without making a conscious decision. My response to an opponent is quicker and more effective than if I had to think about each move I make.”

I began to think of ways I respond without making a conscious decision. What patterns of mind and body have I established in everyday living and is each life kata helpful or harmful? When the opponent of temptation comes, have I trained my mind to make good choices?

Before I became a Christian I had patterns established that were based on selfish desires. The patterns of the old self carried into my new life in Christ. One of these was drawing attention to myself by flirting. I kept falling into this old pattern. One day I asked God why this was such a problem for me. I got my answer when I walked past a television playing one of my favorite shows. There was the pattern, a televised kata of seduction. I realized that most of my favorite shows emphasized that same kata. My mind was trained to automatically copy it when I was around men. I had to retrain my mind by finding better patterns to imitate, and for a time I also had to avoid watching katas of seduction on television.

As Sarah focuses on katas to train her mind for combat, I focus on scripture, prayer and people who live out godly examples to train my mind to imitate God. (Ephesians 5:1) I have to practice things like kindness, forgiveness, humility and purity in my mind before I can live it out in my body. (Romans 8:5) Watching Sarah, I have to ask myself: where do I still need to train my mind to put on the newness that is in Christ so I will move according to His example when challenged by life? How effective are my life katas?

I am grateful to Diane Mowery for sharing her wonderfully inspiring story. -- bws

About Diane Mowery

Diane graduated from the University of Wyoming where she majored in secondary education. She taught junior and senior high school science, and then taught all subjects to her own homeschooled children. In addition to taking care of a large family, Diane facilitates a writers’ group. Her home in the Texas Panhandle is shared with family and a menagerie of animals, including wild birds that have learned to outsmart her cats.

Going Bananas

2013-02-27T23:19:00.000-08:00

You like bargains, right? Look around the supermarket, and you’ll discover bananas are among the few good-for-you foods priced under $1.00 per pound.

How good are they? Several sites on the Internet would have you believe they are a miracle fruit. They show a picture of bananas with a few dark spots. The photo’s caption says bananas so marked are better for you than greener ones. It goes on to mention a Japanese study which states the TNF in ripe bananas fights cancer.

Before you grab the last banana from the dining table's fruit bowl, think about what Mother said. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Off I went, hopping along rabbit trails in search of the truth. On Face Book “theunknownbutnot hidden” included the banana claim. If not skeptical to begin with, I certainly was when I discovered a captioned photo of wheatgrass on the same site. That one encouraged me to drink wheatgrass to turn my gray hair to its youthful chestnut brown. Oh, for a fairy godmother!

Another site, funzug.com, repeated the banana story. How much credence to you give something found on a site named Funzug?

I continued to look. Who exactly conducted the study? What is the substance TNF? And how many miraculous fruits must you eat to enjoy their wonderful properties?

Hoax or Fact provided a few answers. TNF is an acronym for Tumor Necrosis Factor. The site which says “And yes, you can share this healthy information with everyone,” did not answer all my questions about the subject. It does, however, include positive and negative facts. The article cautions readers against overindulgence: bananas are high in calories and sugar. It also states that overripe fruit loses some of its nutrients.

The article at Hoax or Fact may lack complete information, but is less simplistic than much of the hype found elsewhere. Check it out. When reminded of all the good bananas have to offer, I believe you’ll agree they represent a great value for your shopping dollar.

Full-Bodied Characters

2013-02-24T15:09:00.002-08:00

My apologies to the psychologist I’m quoting without attribution. “You insert something of yourself in every character you invent.” The key word here is something. The speaker did not infer that a suspense novelist hid a killer’s temperament. She pointed out that the better you know yourself, the more you can use that knowledge to create believable characters.

In writing workshops we've made “people identification” lists: achievements, assets, disappointments, dislikes, dreams, likes, motivators, and so forth. But listing nouns is only a start in your creation of full-bodied characters. Lists, even when expanded to include a person’s pocket contents or household furnishings, are apt to trap an inexperienced writer into telling instead of showing.

Ask questions: Why? What does that mean? How do the items listed under your characters’ names affect the entanglements in their lives?

For practice, examine yourself:

Is it true we use their past performance as a benchmark for judging people? Discuss how your past performance has influenced others’ opinions of you. Be specific. What have you done to cause certain individuals to like or admire you? What have you done to turn people off? How have people reacted? How have you felt about the reaction of others and their treatment of you?
What are your dreams—both practical and those that are pie in the sky? Consider how each, if/when actualized, would change your life.
List opportunities you've missed. Do you plan to make up for them? How? Will the actions you take affect anyone else? How? Do you regret missing certain opportunities? Do you blame anyone for your loss? Describe your feelings.
What are those innermost thoughts you’d never express out loud? Can you, using a pseudonym if concerned about exposing secrets, rise to the challenge and let them out on paper? Why are they private?
What are your turn-ons? What excites you, elicits laughter, or at least a smile from you, or motivates you to action?

In an effort to understand a particular trait, you can interview friends, but will they be truthful? Talking or writing honestly about yourself, awakens you to emotions and situations you may have forgotten, or perhaps were not consciously aware of. You can trace your personal conversion from who you were in the past to the present.

What happens when novelists probe into their own minds, relive particular emotions, and see how the cause-and-effect relationships affected their lives? They automatically use bits and pieces to enliven their novels’ characters. Try it.

A Case of Bad Timing

2013-02-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

Dianne G. Sagan of Amarillo is a writer and speaker, and was the intended subject of my blog tonight. Then, I planned to follow it in a week or two with a review of at least one of her books.

So much for plans. To write good articles about other people takes research. That means interviews with them, as well as their friends and acquaintances.

It's through research a writer learns about anecdotes that pop up in conversation, but rarely in formal interviews. For example, a friend, using her GPS to find an address, followed its directions, and indeed arrived at the address she had entered, but … well, you've already guessed, haven’t you? The GPS led her to the wrong town.

I hope Diane Sagan was exactly where she wanted to be last week. I’m glad to know (via Face Book) she arrived home safely. To call her this week would have been the epitome of bad timing, if not plain rude. Undoubtedly, she had a stack of mail to go through, and list of emails several pages long.

I’ll keep the book review on my do list for next Thursday. In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about Dianne, simply do a search on Dianne G. Sagan, and watch her name come up. You may not collect any tidbits—those morsels caught in conversation, but you can learn about Dianne as a writer.

I find a book review more interesting when I know a bit about the author, don’t you?

At a Future Time; from Another Place

2013-02-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

Monday's blog belonged to KittyCat. He's gone. His voice is gone. Perhaps he'll laugh, complain, and present his point of view at a future time--from another place.

No doubt, I'll soon wish to laugh, complain, or present my point of view--on a future Tuesday or Wednesday.

KittyCat's readership surprised me at times. Thank you.

--Bernice W. Simpson
February 18, 2013

Roads Less Travelled

2013-02-17T22:58:00.003-08:00

Geraldine Brooks had advice for writers. If you want to set scenes and create characters that draw in your reader, leave the country. Open yourself to discovery. Savor the uniqueness of foreign people—their language, their festivals, and their everyday lives. Experience exotic places, from grass huts to castles.

So off I went to England, and headed straight for Windsor Castle. Well, vicariously. My tour through a souvenir book found at an estate sale cost ten cents. If an airline ticket doesn’t fit your budget either, expand your knowledge on the cheap with The National Geographic, The Smithsonian, or souvenir books instead.

Below is a sampling of my visit to Windsor Castle. To help you pick up on the flavor of it, I left a word out of each sentence. Select the correct word (labeled a through l) from the Word List to replace the blank line in each sentence. Each word is used once. Answers follow.

Word List:

a. motte, b. audience, c. dado, d. castellated, e. Royal Standard, f. apogee,
g. fulsomely, h. tridents, i. vestibule, k. collegiate church, l. undercroft, m. curtain wall

1. The Queen is kept closely informed about all aspects of national life and the Prime Minister has a weekly ___________ with her.

2. The Castle contains, as well as a royal palace, a magnificent ___________ and the homes or workplaces of a large number of people, including the Constable and the Governor of the Castle, the Military Knights of Windsor and the Dean and Canons of St. George’s Chapel.

3. Whenever the Queen is in residence, the ____________ rather than the Union flag, is flown over the castle.

4. Henry II also began to replace the timber and outer walls of the Upper Ward with stone. The basic ____________ dates from this from his time as does the Round Tower, built in 1170 on top of William the Conqueror’s original Norman motte.

5. On the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 Charles II determined to reinstate Windsor as his principal non-metropolitan palace. The architect Hugh May was appointed in 1673 to supervise the work which took eleven years to complete. May retained the blocky ____________ appearance of the buildings but regularised their exterior and inserted round-arched Windows, some of which are still visible today.

6. In many ways Windsor Castle reached its ____________ in the reign of Queen Victoria.

7. Visitors make their way to the state apartments in the Upper Ward, walking past the round tower on its steep artificial ____________ . The moat protecting the tower has always been dry, and is now the enchanting gardens of the Governor of Windsor Castle…

8. The visitor now enters of vaulted ____________, originally created by James Wyatt and extended by Jeffrey Wyatville as the principal entrance to the state apartments.

9. The grand ____________ is dominated by statute of Queen Victoria by Sir Joseph Boehm (1871).

10. It was one of a series of thirteen painted ceilings that celebrated the Rrestoration of the English monarchy in 1660 all had ____________ royalist subjects, and were influenced by Charles Lebrun’s work for Louis 14^th at Versailles.

11. The 17^th century cornice by Grinling Gibbons with crisply carved acanthus leaves survives as do the waist-height paneled ____________ and 8-paneled doors.

12. William IV eliminated the old painted ceiling and installed the existing moulded plaster design sporting his own monogram and arms, while the anchors and ____________ recall his career in the Navy before he ascended the throne.

Answers: 1-b, 2-k, 3-e, 4-m, 5-d, 6-f, 7-a, 8-l, 9-I, 10-g, 11-c, 12-h.

The above selections were taken from:

Guidebook text written by John Martin Robinson

Meet Diane Neal

2013-02-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

In the July, 2012 issue of Accent West a magazine published in Amarillo, Diane Neal finished her article, Goodbye, Baby Dog with a heart-felt sentence. “Chumley was not born of my bone or flesh of my flesh, but in every other sense, he was my baby.”

You can learn a lot about a person by reading what they write. If you weren’t already acquainted with her, that article would tell you Diane is a person of intelligence, compassion and a woman you’d like to know.

I met Diane in 1997 at a Frontiers in Writing conference, the first for both of us. Diane had just returned from England, and was working on her thesis to complete her Masters of Arts degree. Since then, Diane has been an active member of Panhandle Professional Writers, and served as president.

The times may be tough for free-lance writers, but in addition to the moving story about her dog Chumley, Diane’s considerable publication credits include book reviews for magazines, her "Big Mother" series about growing up in Amarillo, and published in Accent West. She is also one of the contributors to Flash Tales: An Adventure in Words.

Visiting her critique group, I had the privilege of getting a sneak peek at some of her “Big Mother” stories. Full of humor and local color, I knew they would have a strong regional audience. But the writing of Diane’s I’ve enjoyed the most, has been her annual Christmas-time letters, complete with pictures of her husband; sons Herschel III, Terry, and Jarrod, and grandchildren.

“Writings not a big money maker.” Diane laughed as she said it.

But writers write. If the primary motive for writers to spend long hours alone pecking at computer keys, we would miss the stories Diane has to tell. “I’m a morning writer, but once started, I work into the afternoon,” Diane said.

She tickled my curiosity with a few comments about a book she has on the back burner. When she’s ready to publish it, she may post a heads up on Facebook. – Just one more reason to be among the hundreds of Diane Neal’s friends.

Loss

2013-02-11T06:37:00.000-08:00

“I’ve learned of a baby who needs a good home—just like yours.”

Would you say that to a person who had just buried their child? Of course not. Yet you are quick to offer a stray cat hanging around your sister’s house to acquaintances, grief-stricken over the death of their cat. You beg them to take the sweet-natured calico an infirm neighbor can no longer properly care for, or the tabby of a coworker who is relocating, and can’t take her pet with her. You feel so sorry for those hapless creatures.

So do I, but like you, not enough to offer them our home. And certainly not enough to feed them from my baby’s dishes, play with his toys, or sleep in his favorite places.

At times I see him in those places, and smile. I also see him cock his little head as he sits, his two white-booted feet pressed tightly together in front of him. “What…you’re busy? Like I should care you’re busy? I want to play. With you. Now.”

Yes, animals do talk. Like humans, they express themselves with body language. At times it can be as clear as any sound uttered out loud. As with person-to-person communication, sometimes we miss the message. My husband and I missed it with KittyCat’s illness. So did his regular veterinarian. The next vet we rushed him to, Dr. Christy Webb, caught it. But the antibiotics and breathing treatments that could have saved him, had they begun earlier, mocked us with false hope. KittyCat endured horrific distress his last night on this earth.

“Oh, KittyCat,” I’ve sobbed a thousand times, “how your daddy and I loved you. How your suffering tortures us still. And we miss you terribly.”

“People, stop!” I’ve wanted to scream several times. On behalf of anyone who has lost a precious pet lately, stop. Please stop giving us your ideas about what will fill the vacancy in our homes and hearts.

We may appear to have moved on. We act with our usual professionalism at work. We attend functions, hopefully displaying courtesy and friendliness. We perform our daily responsibilities.

But in private moments, we cry.