Aloha! As promised in my initial blog, I am sharing my vacation highlights along with how they have influenced both my thoughts and my writing. I am a big believer that everyone needs a mental vacation. If possible, and luck is with you, it can be on an island near the Pacific. If that's not available to you, let me share mine. I spent this last week in Hawaii visiting my son. His Marine battalion recently returned from deployment in Okinawa, Japan. I left stormy Georgia weather and arrived to balmy Hawaiian days. As I sat watching the Pacific Ocean waters churning and rolling to reach the shore, I had a brief idea. How lovely would it be to live here? Every day, I could be enchanted over and over by the majestic blues and greens of the water. The crashing waves seducing me into a hypnotic state of relaxation. This would definitely be the most opportune time for my Muse to arrive and fill my head with story plots, right? I mean, when the wind rustling palm trees create the sound of rain drops, I could soak up the sun on my face and my imagination would be unleashed. Or, I could just blank out. Let my thoughts focus only on the sounds nature is creating around me and relax. So, that’s what I did. I realized I could not live near the ocean. I’d never get any writing done. I did grab my notebook and jot down notes, plots and character ideas. I got a lot of those notes during my tourist jaunts. We visited Pearl Harbor, which blasted me with ideas. History does that, I think. I was humbled at the Arizona memorial. So many lives with so many stories to tell, it boggles the mind. I actually went into a submarine there. It was great to actually experience going through hatch doors. They are small! I don’t know if I’ll ever write a story involving a submarine. But, if I do, I know how it feels to be in one and can draw on that to strengthen my story. We then visited the botanical gardens and the Byodo-Inn temple. Again, so much culture in one spot provided an abundance of ideas. My little notebook is getting filled! Friday night, we went to dinner. Duke’s at Waikiki beach rocked. The food was great and to sit under Tiki lights with the ocean less than 100 feet away provided a fantastic experience. I can see how a lot of movies use this setting for romantic dinners. Notes were written down here, as well. We visited the Dole plantation. If you like pineapples (which I do), it provided fun and educational areas to explore. I also got some fun sub plot ideas from this place. There was a maze which boasted of being the largest in 2008. It took 40 minutes to get through it, but I did. And that got me thinking of how it could be a fun place to get lost in. If done during the day, it could even be romantic. Yes, I write romance. So, of course, I’m going to think that way! Too soon, my seven days were up. Ten hours in flight to return home at midnight. I miss the ocean sounds. But, I relish the memories. I have a 20 second video on my phone of the ocean waves too. I’ll pull that out and watch it the next time I need a mental break and let that vision enchant me again. I don’t think one has to fly for ten hours to get to a place that allows one’s mind to relax and energize. Sometimes, I think, something as simple as a picture or a video can provide the same results. Music allows the imagination to take flight as well. There are many writers who write to music. Some save the soundtracks of each book/manuscript. Others have the same song or track they play every time they write. I have certain songs that I play for certain scenes. The pace helps me write. Do you do something similar when you write or take a mental break? Let me know if you do. Mahalo! Sherrie Back of mermaid mirror from my friend, Sherrie Morgan “Are mermaids real? No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, July 2102 This statement, by a tax-funded government agency no less, was issued in response to a ‘mocumentary’ by The Animal Plant Network. Their show, Mermaids: The Body Found, was the most successful one in its history and has been rebroadcast many times. Fascination with mermaids has endured from ancient civilizations. Stone Age cave paintings from 30,000 years ago are the oldest known depiction of magical creatures with female torsos and fish-like trunks. Most ancient cultures, especially those by the sea, had stories and drawings of female water goddesses and mermaids. The belief spanned all parts of the globe from Japan, the Mediterranean, India, Africa and Inuit and Polynesian cultures. According to writer Doreen Virtue in her book Mermaids 101, even Christianity’s Mother Mary is known as the “Star of the Sea” and has a connection to water. Which led me to wonder: why the popularity of mermaids and not mermen? After researching, the reason that makes the most sense to me is because water symbolically represents the feminine. Water symbolizes deep emotions, intuition and the subconscious. The ocean can be calm and peaceful or it may unpredictably erupt into crashing tsunamis. As creatures of the sea, mermaids were seen as powerful, alluring sirens that sailors were in danger of becoming enchanted by, just as they were at the mercy of Mother Nature. Fascination with mermaid mythology has returned and in March, 2012 USA Today reported that the publishing industry will soon be releasing a large number of books about mermaids, particularly in the Young Adult category. The article speculated that ‘Mermaids might be the New Vampires’. I cannot wait to read each and every one of the new books. My own book with mermaid characters, Siren’s Secret, will be out in November. I’ve always loved the ocean and the possibility of magic—small wonder I dreamed of being a mermaid as a little girl. Related to mermaids is the mythology of the lost undersea kingdom of Atlantis. Again, the notion of aquatic beings with an advanced civilization fills me with a sense of awed fascination. It’s so much fun to wonder what if and let my imagination roam. Perhaps that will be another book one day. Does the idea of mermaids intrigue you? Why? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Dreaming of mermaids, Debbie Herbert Courtesy of imagerymajestic/FreeDigitalPhotos.net Writing a synopsis is a daunting task that every writer must face. Before you can send your manuscript to an agent, a publisher, or even enter a contest, you need to know how to write a compelling synopsis of your story. When I sat down to write my synopsis, I had read countless blogs, articles, craft books, and guidelines. While I took away some really good points, all of this conflicting information caused a fair amount of confusion. This is when the synopsis demon in your head tells you, “If you can’t relate your story to someone in an intelligent way, you will never become a published author.” It wasn’t until I heard someone say, “I’d rather go to the dentist and have all my teeth pulled than write a synopsis,” that everything I’d previously read started to make sense. Maybe it’s my background in nursing, but that extreme statement caused me to think about the synopsis from a different angle. We need to approach our story much the same as a surgeon approaches a body. He can only remove parts that don’t play a major role for our body to continue functioning properly. As humans, we may think we need everything we were born with, but that just isn’t true. As writers, we believe every character and subplot we write must be told for someone to understand our story. That also isn’t true. They may play an important part in the overall story, but like a surgeon excises a body-part, we must excise them from our synopsis. What we have to keep for our story to function properly is the main plot and characters – the hero, heroine, and antagonist. Be sure to reveal the plot turning points and character arcs. Turning points move the story forward. And character arcs breathe life into your story, making them relatable to the reader. While writing a synopsis is never this cut and dry, here is some of the best advice I’ve received about shortening it to meet guidelines. So put on your surgical gloves and sharpen your scalpel.
There is definitely nothing easy about this process. Writers are naturally wordy people. If we weren’t, a novel would be no longer than a synopsis. 5 important points to keep in mind during manuscript surgery:
Has something resonated with you about this topic that helped you understand this dreaded part of the writing life? We would love to hear about it. Happy writing, Mia Let me tell you a story… about being a 'plus one.' Ever since I was a little girl, my mother could create a story that seemed like it would never end. In fact, these five words have followed me through my life, “Let me tell you a story.” My first memories of these words came when I was little, and my mom wanted to talk about something. It usually meant I was in trouble or she had distressing news to deliver. She would sit close and that’s how it always began. After all, how can you be upset, if the person who loves you the most, is beside you? Once we were settled, she would begin all her talks the same way, with those five words: “Let me tell you a story.” These stories would range from memories of when she was growing up, or experiences she has had being a parent, and most importantly they all pertained to the topic she wanted to discuss with you. Unfortunately, about twenty minutes later, when it seemed the story would never end, she would finally make her point. It was her way of transitioning into whatever it was that she wanted to say. As I got older, the stories grew longer. After all, as you grow up your depth of understanding is greater, and thus needs extensive explanation, right? Wrong. Once her stories starting hitting the thirty minute mark, I started turning to her and asking her to just spit it out because I had stuff to do, like homework or violin practice. She would always laugh and finally get to the point. This still happens today. Me at twenty-six, still having cuddle sessions with my mom when she has something important to discuss. However, as soon as we are settled and she utters her famous words, “Let me tell you a story,“ I turn to her and give her a look and she spits out the point. It only took 22 odd years to achieve this, and I wouldn’t trade a minute of it for the world. Now that we are all settled in, let me tell you a story. Being the “plus one” to a writer is a hard job. You might be a daughter, son, mother, sister, or husband. The job you have is a hard one but do not fear, you are not alone. The same frustrations you have with your writer are the same I have with mine. Well, for the most part, I am hoping to hear other’s stories because at this point, I have been by myself for a bit. These frustrations range from paper everywhere, discussions of fictional characters at length till they feel like they are real, and even to feeling like you are ignored. The best advice I can give on these frustrations is as follows: Invest in boxes or bags. Old shoe boxes, mail boxes, and even the cloth bags from the grocery store works. When the paper is everywhere on every surface, just put it in a box. Not all the papers together, mind you. What was on the desk goes in one box, on the table in another, the sticky notes that have somehow made it all over the bathroom mirror, also in another box. That way, when the writer in your life comes careening around the corner in a panic because they can’t find the papers from the desk, you can calmly point to the box and the crisis is adverted. For your fictional character problem? Don’t fight it. Ask for daily updates, ask questions, and welcome them into the family. One, it will help your writer explore the depths of the characters they are creating. Two, it will help them with ideas for plots if you ask what direction they are going in or what they like to do. Who knows, by asking if the duchess loves purple roses might inspire the writer in your life to realize that the rose is the key to how all the ladies of the ton are being killed. A prick of a thorn from a rose. And three, it will show them that you care about what they are doing. It is hard enough to follow your dreams and make them a reality and even harder when they aren’t supported. Finally, and this is important to remember, you are never ignored. It may feel like it a good eighty percent of the time but you are not ignored. Your mere presence is an inspiration every day to the writer in your life. Not just for characters, plot lines, cover quotes, catch phrases, or as a beta reader. You are an inspiration for them to follow their dreams. Every day they see or talk to you, they are reminded of the reason they are writing. They write because the words they harbor inside are too much to keep at bay but they also write to share their souls with the ones they love, their “plus ones”. Now I could continue to prattle on because I mean honestly, I did learn from the best. Are you ready for the point yet? The point is this, being a plus one is a hard job but it is the most vital job of the writing team. You, as a plus one, are the John Watson to your Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is a good man on his own, but he is a great man because he has a Watson. Until next time my plus ones. Yours, Heather One of the things I usually say to folks when asked to describe myself, is that I love puzzles. Not just your typical jigsaw puzzle. Although, my mother loved putting those together and I cherished the times I spent with her working on those 3000 piece killers. As life moved on, I went from jigsaw puzzles to brain teasers, word games to literature. Not many people think literature can present puzzles. But, they do. Why did the hero do this or go there? My first love was mysteries. Sherlock Holmes kicked my butt. I remember a game I received for Christmas one year. This was the gist of it: The player received a binder. In the binder was a copy of the London newspaper dated appropriately, interview dialogues, a map of London (also dated appropriately) and a book with the beginning of a mystery. The idea was to solve the mystery in the lowest amount of “moves” as possible. Each time you read an article, reviewed the map, or read an interview, it counted as a move. Over and over I would try each mystery and try to “beat” the score. I didn’t do very well, but I never gave up. I was hooked on trying to figure out the puzzle of the mystery! I did the same with a book on Jack the Ripper. Really, with today’s technology and advances on psychological studies, that would be a mystery easily solved, or would it? One of my Life puzzles: When I went back to college, and reviewed the requirements for an English degree, I discovered I needed four years of a foreign language. Four. I did Spanish for two and a half years and began cringing when I realized I had another year and a half to go. I was not going to be able to speak fluent Spanish in this lifetime, nor learn it well enough to take the final level required. That I knew without a doubt. No way, Jose. This presented me with a puzzle. How do I meet the requirements for the degree without following the traditional path of sticking to one foreign language? I researched and, lo and behold, I found out the requirement was four years of a foreign language, with the last two years being upper level courses. But! Those upper level courses did not have to be in the same language. Sweet! I went to my favorite English professor and asked her assistance. During the next year and a half, I took Old English (which required translating Beowulf), Latin (translating Aeneid), and Sanskrit (no translating, that was hard enough on its own!). Another Life puzzle: Being a single parent also presented its own challenges. How do I stay involved with my kids as I work full time and go to school full time? Easy peasy. I tortured my kids with my homework! My son lucked out with Beowulf. Because, really. What boy doesn’t like a story of a hero coming to save the day of a wounded town and frightened king? He also got drawn into Latin stories. Myths, Gods, treachery…he soaked them up. This lead to video games and books of fantasy for him. And yes, mom had to reciprocate and learn the video games. Those wicked things can be addictive. Live interactive books. Genius! Some folks call these challenges. I’ve chosen to call them puzzles. Why? Because, to me, puzzles can be solved eventually. If one takes the time to look at the entire picture and then plunge in. That’s the scary part: plunging in. But, it’s also the most thrilling. Have you had a life puzzle of your own that you figured out a unique way to solve? I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to visit me at my website: www.sherrieleamorgan.com Photo: One Six Photography By Debbie Herbert Since April is Autism Awareness Month & National Pet month, I’m writing about pet therapy with autism and people with special needs. At first glance, I’m the least likely person to write this. Oh, I have the caretaking role down since I have an adult son with autism. I’ve been dealing with that since back in the day when it only occurred once in 10,000 births and few had ever heard the word ‘autism.’ Then along came the movie Rainman, and – voila– everyone suddenly knew about autism. And did I mention that my son, Byron, is afraid of animals? Flash forward to the present – sadly, not only are people aware of the disorder, they usually have a family member, or a friend, who’s been touched with an autism diagnosis. Wonderful avenues have opened up over the years for persons with autism and their families. Ground-breaking therapies, public awareness and educational advancements. Just as autism and its symptoms are different for all, so are the appropriate, alternative therapies. There’s a whole smorgasbord: water, dance, music, art, nutritional, occupational, massage & . . . pet therapy. Full disclosure: as I mentioned, my son is scared of animals. To my knowledge, he’s never been bitten, scratched or harmed in any way by one. Our family has had cats since Byron was young. Up until last year, he would scream in terror if one came too close. “Get!” he would shout in ear-splitting decibels. The cats learned to give him a wide berth. As an animal-lover, I wanted Byron to feel the same. Because of his social impairments with people, I hoped he could relate to a pet. Why couldn’t he form this kind of bond? A wise teacher stepped in. “Think about it, Debbie. Cats and dogs are unpredictable. They’ll jump on you for no reason, make all kind of strange noises and do other weird stuff.” Aha. Byron loves routine and order. If I look at the situation from his point of view, it has its own logic. For other parents, pet therapy may provide their child comfort and happiness. I visited our local humane center and spoke to the director. She’s matched hundreds of special-needs persons with animals over the years. What she tells the families is no different from what she encourages everyone to do: come into the shelter with an open mind and spend time with the animals. Sit with their energy. Observe them at play. See which one chooses you. Yes, certain breeds are known for being more suitable because of their temperament. But just as everyone, challenged or not, is different -- all animals have their own personality. She also said it’s acceptable, even encouraged, for families to try-out an animal in their home to make sure it’s a correct fit. If it isn’t, an animal may be returned and adopted by someone else. So it never hurts to provide your child with new experiences. They may find their new best friend! I’ve read lots of stories on bonds formed between persons with autism and pets. Besides the usual connections with dogs and cats, there’s horseback riding and swimming with dolphins (which sounds incredible). I even read a Guideposts Magazine article about a person with autism forming a connection with a chimpanzee at his local zoo. Pets may not be Byron’s ‘thing’ – he’s personally into water and swims like a fish – but at least he’s grown more tolerant of them. We have an orange tabby, Grendel, who’s doing his best to win our son over. Grendel respects Byron’s boundaries; he sits a few feet away and observes him, as if trying to figure Byron out. Over time, Grendel has gradually inched closer to Byron, closing the physical distance between them. I’ve seen them stare at one other intently with bemused curiosity. Who knows where this might lead one day? Grendel may never inch closer, or Byron may rebuff him. But . . . I’ve got my money on Grendel. Do you know someone with special needs who has bonded with a pet? We would love to hear from you! For more information on my books visit www.debbieherbert.com. Introduction to 'A Tale of Three Writers Plus One' Blog Hello everyone! Welcome to the first post for our blog group. The Three Writers are: Mia McKimmy, Debbie Herbert, and Sherrie Lea Morgan. Our Plus One is Sherrie’s lovely daughter, Heather Eustis-Fillion.
I wanted to introduce everyone and tell a little about what we write, and where we are in our journey to becoming … well, best-selling authors. Because let’s face it, to have that title attached to your name is every writer’s dream. I’m Mia McKimmy, the web-host for our group. I write Paranormal Romance with SciFi elements and a twist of Fantasy thrown in for good measure. I love these genres and can’t really see myself writing anything else. But who knows how I’ll feel later down the road. My debut novel is ‘Sons of Sivadia.’ I am currently seeking publication for the first book in this series, while working on the second. My post will have information on Vampire Mythology, Norse Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, and Witches, all of which play an important role in the Sons of Sivadia series. I’ll also post resources that I’ve found helpful in the Craft of Writing, Publication, and Social Media, since these are an important part of a writer’s life. Occasionally, I'll post excerpts from my series as well. My wish is to give writers helpful insight into this career we’ve chosen, or that has chosen us. To learn more about me and my writing, please visit my website at: http://www.miamckimmy.com ‘Sons of Sivadia - When two souls become one, only love will prevail.’ Debbie Herbert is a talented writer who just received a two-book deal from Harlequin Romance for her ‘Dark Seas’ series. It’s a Paranormal Romance about a secret mermaid clan in an Alabama bayou. As one of her critique partners, I can’t say enough about her excellent descriptive and world building skills. She wraps you into the world of mer-people and makes you believe you actually live among them. It’s definitely a series that will leave you wanting more. She is a double Maggie Finalist in paranormal and young adult categories. Debbie will bring us some interesting posts about Mermaid Mythology, crystals, and her path to publication. Be sure to stay tuned for the ‘Dark Seas’ release date. To learn more about Debbie, visit her website at: http://www.debbieherbert.com ‘Southern Romance – where love, like magic, cast its own spell of enchantment.’ Sherrie Lea Morgan is the other talented writer in our group. Her understanding of writing fiction never ceases to amaze me. Sherrie has written three Romantic Suspense novels and is currently working on a Historical Romance, for which she has an excellent voice. Sherrie’s work is an escape into romance and intrigue, no matter what genre she chooses to write. She’s a strong believer in writing what you know. Her first manuscript brings in her background in linguistics. She laughs when she tells people her son’s first bedtime story was Beowulf. Her post will include the ancient languages, herbalism, and from her latest novel, how everyday food can be deadly. She got this from her daughter, who happens to be a pastry chef. Another little known fact about Sherrie: she is a three time winner of NaNoWriMo, and a prolific writer. She is currently working on her author website and will be providing the link as soon as it’s up and running. ”Escape into Romance, one mystery at a time.” Last but not least is our Plus One. Heather Eustis-Fillion is Sherrie’s daughter and will post about - the joys of living with a writer (yeah right!) Okay, I’ll wait until all you writers stop laughing to continue. As writers, we have varying degrees of guilt about our family and friends. Or more to the point, the lack of time we spend with them. When we are deep inside our characters and their world it’s hard to think about much else. And when exhaustion finally takes over, we pull ourselves from that place and realize we haven’t said more than a handful of words to those closest to us. That’s when the dreaded guilt sets in. But, we all know this. That’s why we believe Heather will bring insight into how our loved ones feel about this profession we’ve chosen. Because let’s face it, they are our biggest fans. What type of post would you like to see? Let us know by leaving a comment. Until next time, Mia |