Saturday, April 28, 2007

I've Lost Track of How Many Drafts . . .

I've been working on one particular novel off and on for about four and a half years. It's given me more fits than any one novel should be allowed, but I'm delighted to say that I finished it last night. It's been e-mailed off to my second round readers, and once I get their feedback, I'll make the changes it needs before it's submitted.

I've been trying to analyze why this book was so hard to write. It did require a lot of research. It's also the longest book I've written so far, coming in at 89,044 words. I did cover some extremely difficult aspects of history. But I've researched and written difficult things before -- why was this one so hard?

Could it be that I've got another child that I didn't have while Nothing to Regret and Strength to Endure were being written? Very possible. It could also be that my children are working on harder subjects in our homeschool, and that I've started my own business in the meantime. But what I'm beginning to fear is that I'm burned out on research and need to take a break from it for a while.

And I think I can do that and remain productive. I've got two novels finished that I'd like to polish up a bit and get ready to submit. One is a contemporary romance/suspense/mystery called Faith Beyond Fear, and it will only take me about a month to get it where I want it. The other is a historical, based on the love letters my grandparents exchanged while they were courting, and is called Test of Time. I imagine I could have both of those ready to submit by Thanksgiving. I also have an idea for another contemporary novel and I've outlined it already, so I could be working on that.

But historical fiction will always be my first love. I feel most in my element when I'm writing it. Maybe by the end of this year, I'll be ready to dive back in. I just wish I didn't feel like so much of a failure when I contemplate taking a break. I'm just too compulsive, I think.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Mommy's Day Off

My handsome honey took today off especially for the purpose of giving it to me for a day off. Granted, it won't be a full day -- I do have to let him go to sleep in the late afternoon so he can get to work. (He works nights.) But there will be several hours for me to do whatever I want, and I'm trying to decide what those things should be.

I already slept in, so that's one thing checked off. He took the kids to the dentist for me, so that's another thing. But what else should I do? Paint my toenails? No, I don't think so. Hmmmm.

There will definitely be writing involved, that's for sure. Did y'all notice the new numbers on my work in progress tally (right hand sidebar)? I'm so close ... stretching ... I can almost touch it.

I also want to go clothes shopping. I definitely need some new pants. And I could look for cute shoes. Tempting. Very tempting.

Or I could go back to bed and take a nap.

Whatever I decide to do, it's going to be a well-deserved mental recharge for me. Matt's been working a lot of overtime and I've been running on the ragged edge of sanity for a little while. Some Mommy time is definitely in order.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Weird Wednesday Writing Exercises (part two)

I don't know how many of you tried the writing exercise I posted last week -- it was pretty weird. Well, I did warn you! Weirdness notwithstanding, I think it helped to prove my point that you can use anything to spark a writing idea. There is no such thing as a dirth of ideas -- it's just a matter of being open to them.

Here's another idea for this week:

Turn on your television. Take the main character from the first commercial you see, and the main character from the second commerical. Write a scene where they are having a conversation.

Monday, April 23, 2007

The Bachelor (or, when reality tv goes too far)

I think you've all figured out that I'm a reality tv fan. I like "What Not to Wear" and "The Amazing Race." I get a kick out of "Iron Chef America," and I'm totally obsessed with "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars." But enough is enough.

"The Bachelor" is nothing but a brothel shown on television. You start with a large group of women, all acting like idiots trying to get this one guy's attention, and then he goes through and chooses which women he feels the biggest "connection" with. Week after week, the women cat fight, brawl, badmouth, gossip, and claw at each other behind his back, and then as soon as he comes in the room, the sweetness and light reappears. You know, I thought polygamy was outlawed, but it's living strong every Monday night on television. And what makes it worse, is that real emotions are being tampered with here.

I equally hate the one (I can't remember the name right now) where they take the moms from two houses and switch them. That seriously messes with the kids' heads.

I enjoy watching television for entertainment. I disagree with programming that causes the viewer to turn into a peeping tom into someone else's heartache for the purposes of a cheap thrill.

Taking Heather’s Suggestion

After I posted my “Weird Wednesday Writing Exercises,” Heather Moore left a note in the comment trail asking me to do it myself and then post the results. By Jove, I believe I shall!

Let’s see now – I’ll tell you what I’m doing so you can see the process.

1. Walk over to your nearest fiction bookshelf.

Done.


2. Pull off six books that have blue covers.

Okay, now, here’s a problem. When we moved into our trailer home, I had to decide what to leave out and what to store. We have a great storage unit here and I rotate my books, but I’m not about to go trotting out there right now (it’s been raining and it’s muddy and I’m a wimp.) And most of the books I have out right now are nonfiction, for research. I only found four fiction books with blue covers, so we’ll reuse two of them.

3. Arrange them in alphabetical order by the author's first name.

Done! What I have is as follows:

Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Until the Dawn by Gale Sears
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressman

4. Open Book #1 to page 39. Write down the first line of the fourth paragraph.

“Again the tendril touched his mind, but this time, instead of curiosity, he sensed an overpowering, ravenous hunger.”

5. Open Book #2 to page 3. Write down the sixth line of the first paragraph.

“Hadn’t he seen her undo the clasp and look lovingly at the pictures many times a day?”


6. Open Book #3. What is the main character's name? That will be the name of your main character.

My main character’s name is Rueben.

7. Open Book #4 to page 100. Count fifty-six words into the page. Whatever the fifty-seventh word is, write it down and prepare to use it.

Viciously


8. Open Book #5 to page 23. What is the main conflict on that page? Write it down.

I’m reusing “Peace like a River.” The conflict here: a girl is being beat up by a couple of boys in a locker room and the janitor comes in and saves her.


9. Open Book #6. Read the last page. Use this conclusion to end your story.


I’m reusing “Until the Dawn.” The conclusion: the main character and his mother are dancing a joyous dance in a spring-drenched pasture.

Okay, so now I’ve got my elements. We have a predator with an overpowering, ravenous hunger. We have a locket which is being looked at lovingly. Our main character is Rueben. Something will happen viciously, and a girl is being beat up and then saved. Now, the joyous dancing in the spring-drenched pasture may prove tricky, so I’m going to take a break here and think about all this for a few minutes.

About four hours later: I got sidetracked. Sorry. Okay, here we go.

Rueben took a step back, his body shielding Vicki from further blows. He could tell from the balled-up fist pressed against his back that she still clutched her locket close to her chest. What was with her and that locket, anyway? She must open it up twelve times a day.

“Give it to me,” the rough-looking man said, raising a gun with his right hand and holding out the left. Rueben sensed something odd about this man – a wildness about the eyes, frantic, an almost overpowering hunger. “Give me the locket.”

“No,” she said, her voice muffled.

The man came closer, and Rueben could smell his breath, hot and heavy, humid, like Nebraska in July. He tried to shove Rueben to the side, but Rueben wouldn’t be shoved. The alley was dark and deserted. He was Vicki’s only chance.

The gun came down across Rueben’s head, a vicious blow that stunned him. White light shot across his eyes, morphing into yellow, a nice, sunlit yellow, like the time his mother took him for a picnic out in the meadow. He was about five years old, and she had taken his hands and danced with him in the sunlight. Shaking his head, he chased away the memory and brought himself sharply back into the present in time to see the man dashing down the alley and Vicki holding her neck, a long red stripe of welted skin where the necklace used to be.



That was fun! Now it’s your turn!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Weird Wednesday Writing Exercises

It's been a little while since I posted any hands-on writing exercises, so I thought I'd throw one out for your enjoyment this cloudy Wednesday.

1. Walk over to your nearest fiction bookshelf.

2. Pull off six books that have blue covers.

3. Arrange them in alphabetical order by the author's first name.

4. Open Book #1 to page 39. Write down the first line of the fourth paragraph.

5. Open Book #2 to page 3. Write down the sixth line of the first paragraph.

6. Open Book #3. What is the main character's name? That will be the name of your main character.

7. Open Book #4 to page 100. Count fifty-six words into the page. Whatever the fifty-seventh word is, write it down and prepare to use it.

8. Open Book #5 to page 23. What is the main conflict on that page? Write it down.

9. Open Book #6. Read the last page. Use this conclusion to end your story.

Okay, now here is your assignment. Take all these elements you have just been given to create an outline for a new story. You're not "stealing" from these books -- you'll be paraphrasing sentences, not repeating them, and you'll be using the essence of them rather than the actual plot. If this doesn't get your brain going in a whole new direction, I just don't know what to do with you.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Tips for the Writing Mommy

I’m a stay-at-home mom, a homeschooler, the owner/operator of a bath and beauty company, I write blogs for Families.com, I’m the Wolf leader in my ward, and I’m an LDS historical fiction novelist. No wonder I’m so tired – after typing all that, I think I need to go take a nap.

People ask me all the time how I manage to balance everything. Well, truth be told, I don’t always. You don’t want to drop by my house unexpectedly or you’ll never know what you’ll find. We live in organized chaos. I stay up too late at night and I admit there are days when I feel like I’m chasing my tail. But there are a few things I’ve learned that I’d like to share with you in hopes that it will help make your schedule a little more conducive to writing. Or for that matter, finding time to do any other thing you’d like.

1 – Meals and Snacks

You don’t need to prepare an all-out meal from scratch three times a day. You can do cold cereal for breakfast once in a while, you know. You can also do cheese, crackers and lunch meat for lunch. I do try to prepare “actual dinners,” as my daughter puts it, and I do make breakfast and lunch, but on days when I’m seriously writing, I let mealtimes become more casual. Some ideas:

a. Keep yogurt in your fridge for a quick snack for you or the kids. Yogurt and a banana make a great breakfast, too.

b. Take a loaf of bread and make it into a whole stack of sandwiches. Then slide the sandwiches back into the bread sack. When someone needs a sandwich, they can just grab one out of the fridge.

c. Designate one crisper in your fridge to be a “snack drawer.” Fill it up with apples, cheese sticks, yogurt, etc. When your children want a snack, tell them to go get something out of the “snack drawer.” You can do the same thing in your cupboard. Make a basket with pretzels, crackers, etc. and have that be the special “snack basket.” You can take sandwich bags and break the boxes down into serving sizes and tell them they can have one, so they don’t run off with the whole box.

d. Make meals ahead of time and stick them in the freezer.

e. When I buy a package of meat, I like to cook it all up and then freeze it, cooked. That way, when I go to use it, I just have to warm it through instead of defrosting and then cooking it.

f. Make tomorrow’s dinner while you’re making tonight’s. Especially if you’re using cooked meat, you can assemble tomorrow’s dinner, cover it and put it in the fridge. Then just throw it in the oven tomorrow night.

g. Teach your older children how to make sandwiches, warm up soup, etc. They get a sense of pride in their accomplishments when they are allowed to help make a meal.

h. If you have younger children, make some sippy cups with milk, juice and water in them. Then when the child gets thirsty, they can either grab one themselves or you can send your older child to get it for them. It’s a lot less expensive than juice boxes, that’s for sure.

These are all things you can either direct from your computer or will help you spend less time in the kitchen = more time at the computer.


2 – Entertaining the Troops

a. It’s not a sin to let your children watch TV. I don’t mean to stick them in front of it for hours on end and let them watch whatever comes on; there are definite dangers in allowing entire days in front of the TV, and with the programming that’s on, you never know what they might be subjected to. But there are some fabulous programs on that are fun and educational, as well as great DVDs. My kids have learned a lot from shows like CyberChase, Stanley, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, The Magic School Bus, and the like. There’s nothing wrong with turning on the TV and letting your kids watch a show while you write.

b. Get some paper and crayons and let your kids “write” a book of their own while you’re working.

c. Ask older children to read to the younger ones.


3 – Adjusting Your Sleep

This one’s hard. But consider getting up earlier than your kids or staying up late after they go to bed. It will do a number on your own sleep but you’ll have a sense of contentment that may help make up for some of that lack.

4 – Housework

a. I have to get up and walk around periodically. So while I’m doing that, I’ll change out the laundry and put in a load of dishes. Usually by the time I’m done doing that, I’ll be ready to get back to work.

b. It’s not a sin to teach your children to do chores. The happiest children are the ones who feel that they are valuable in their homes and who have a sense of purpose. When you teach your children to do chores, you are helping them to feel needed. Of course, keep the chores age-appropriate. My 10-year-old can vacuum, and my 8-year-old can wipe up the bathroom mirrors and counter top. My five-year-old can unload the dishwasher. I even have my older kids stand on chairs to get the laundry out of the washer and put it in the dryer. They all love helping me make dinner. As they get older, I’ll teach them to do other things. This not only clears up five minutes of time for me here and there, but when we work together to turn a half-hour job into a ten-minute job (freeing up twenty minutes) we’re drawing closer together.

c. Reevaluate your thinking about housework. Mold is obviously not good. It’s important to have clean towels and clothes, and feeding your family is a good thing. But if you can give up something to give yourself time to write, think about doing it. Are there ways you could simplify your routines? Can you delegate more to your husbands? Can you put up with toys scattered across the floor for a little while so you can finish your chapter? Is it necessary to have all your dishes perfectly stacked all the time? When you’re on a roll with your book, it’s okay to let some things slide until you’re done.

5 – Organizing Your Time

Yeah, this tip’s not a piece of cake either. When you’ve got other people in the house and they have needs, it’s sometimes impossible to create the chunks of time you need.

a. One thing I do is to create Days. What I mean by that is, Wednesday, for instance, is Scout Day. After lunch I sit down and review what I need to do to prepare for the Scouts to come at 4:30. I’m not writing during this time, or grocery shopping, or anything else. It’s devoted to Scouts. I get ready for them to come, they come, and then after they leave, I look at next week’s meeting. I do any ahead-of-time prep work that needs doing, and if I need to buy something, I put it on my shopping list. I record what they got passed off and make notes on what they need to do next. Then, with the exception of getting whatever I might have put on the shopping list, I don’t think about it until the next Wednesday. Monday is the day I use to make the products for my business, unless I have an emergency order. When I was a Stampin’ Up! distributor, Tuesday was my prep day for that. Look at your life – are there certain tasks you can isolate to one day a week?

b. Create an errand day. I used to have the tendency to run out and do errands several times a week, and I found I was away from home a lot. Now what I do is designate an errand day. This usually coordinates with Pay Day. I’ll sit down and pay bills, and then I’ll go out and do all my grocery shopping, trip to the post office, to the bank (if needed) library, Blockbuster, etc, all at once. It makes for about a three-hour trip, but it’s better for me to get it done at once. Now, of course, in between times I still run to the library and Blockbuster (who could go for two weeks without books and movies?) and I do mail books and products as the orders come in. But I try to do it in chunks so that I’m home more often.

c. And again, with the sleep thing I already mentioned. I’m usually up until around 2 am, the main reason for this being that my husband works the night shift and so I like to stay up to see him off. But from 9:00 when all the kids are in bed (supposedly) until I wake my husband up to get ready for work, I can be at the computer, or reading a book, or watching a movie. With the book and movie reviews I write for Families.com, I need to make time for that in my schedule as well.



I think the main thing we need to do is find a way to create balance. You can write and take care of your children at the same time. I recently moved my computer into the living room (it was in my bedroom) so I could be in the thick of things. Right now, my two-year-old is five feet to my left, watching “Blue’s Clues.” I know he’s safe, I know he’s learning, and I’m writing. If you’re totally ignoring your kids in order to write, it won’t be as satisfactory to you. But if you totally ignore yourself and your own talents and ambitions, you won’t derive the kind of satisfaction from motherhood that you should. Take care of yourself so you can take care of your kids.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Tristi Spouts Off Again

Some of my books are a little controversial from a political standpoint, but I’m completely okay with that. My theory has always been that in order to really understand a situation, you need to look at it from other sides, and so that’s become my specialty – looking at things from another point of view. Why be like everyone else, right?

Well, I imagine I’m about to cause a little more furor out there in Politics Land. If I ever stop causing furor, just shoot me, okay?

As I’ve been finishing up this last portion of my Work in Progress, which takes place in the jungle camps of South Vietnam, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. My favorite book right now is “Why Didn’t You Get Me Out?” by Frank Anton. In this book he presents some information that I found absolutely startling, and yet it also makes perfect sense.

I’ve often wondered why it is that the Vietnam veterans were labeled as baby killers. Babies, women, children, and elderly have been killed in every war. World War I, World War II, Korea, you name it, they’ve been killed. Why is it that the Vietnam vets are the only ones who have ever been so branded by the people? I’ve wrestled with this question repeatedly but have never come up with an answer.

However, Frank Anton answered it for me. I’m paraphrasing here, but he in essence says that his interrogators informed him that the war in Vietnam was being fought, and won, on the streets of America, and that the protestors were winning it for the Viet Cong. He goes on to point out that the “baby killer” slogan was fed to the American public by the VC as part of a propaganda scheme that was ridiculously successful. People in America were already upset about the war, and when reports of baby killing started trickling out, it was fuel to the fire. Interesting, isn’t it, that the reports were started by the VC? Possibly the most successful bunch of propaganda we were ever fed, and we ate it.

Don’t get me wrong here – I’m not saying babies weren’t killed. I know they were. My point is that they’ve been killed in every war, and probably in greater numbers than were experienced in Vietnam. The VC killed quite a few innocent bystanders themselves – they went through villages and mowed down anyone who didn’t agree to work with them. My point is that we took their line and we spouted it as our own. We were told what to say by those very individuals we were fighting.

There comes a time when we’ve got to exhibit some sort of faith in our military. During World Wars I and II, we trusted our soldiers implicitly. They came home as heros. Vietnam changed all that and it’s still different today. I’m hearing reports of our soldiers in the Middle East getting criticized for what they’re doing, and it’s just not right. They’re out there risking their lives because they believe in this country and all the goodness it stands for. Our government has made some mistakes, that’s for sure. But at the core, America is good, and our men and women are fighting to make sure that it remains good. That’s what they were trying to do in Vietnam, and that’s what they’re trying to do today.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Stupid History!

I love writing historical fiction because the plot is already laid out for you. There's no mystery about who won the war, just about how your character changed because of it.

But I hate it when something I thought I so carefully researched turns out to be incorrect. While digging for information for "Strength to Endure," I came across the story of King Christian X, the Danish king who wore a yellow star to support the Jews during the Holocaust. I even mention it in the book. I found the information in a couple of other sources, and so thought I was safe.

Well, today at the library I found a children's picture book about the "legend" of the yellow star, and the author's note in the back says that there is no historically recorded evidence that the King actually did that. I checked it out on Snopes, and found the same reply.

Darn it, darn it, darn it!! I get so mad when I find out that something I thought was true, isn't true. Especially when I put it in a book. And that book is still being sold. With my name on it.

It's still a really good book, though . . .

Monday, April 09, 2007

More Blogs

It's been a little while since I shared blog links with you. All of us bloggers at Families.com had a vacation of sorts while some technical details were ironed out, but now we're back, a bloggin' our brains out. Here are some recent selections from moi:

Girl in a Cage

The Falcon at the Portal

The Indian in the Cupboard

A Hole in the Earth

Johnny Tremain

Nothing But the Truth

The King and I

LDS Puzzle Pals

The Kitchen God's Wife

The Cedar Post


Sorry, the Stork Takes No Returns

The Icing on the Cake

The First Year

Powerful Tips for Powerful Teachers

Remember, you can read all my blogs for Families.com by clicking here. And don't miss checking out all the other blog topics -- it's amazing all the things you can read about at Families.com.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Easter Traditions

I sometimes chuckle when I think of all the silly things we do to celebrate certain events. When you get right down to analyzing them, what sense do they really make? We hang lights on a tree at Christmas. We give paper hearts at Valentine's, and we tuck eggs under bushes so our kids can come along five minutes later to find them on Easter. The actions themselves are silly; it's the symbolism behind them that make them worthwhile. (Although, there's no excuse, however sentimental, for eating marshmallow peeps. None at all.)


About five years ago, I wanted to do a little something special for Easter. I went to the store and loaded up on pita bread, grapes, cheese, raisins, refried beans (easier to find than hummus) and grape juice. I then told everyone in my family to go put on bathrobes and tie towels around their heads. I put all the food on plates and we sat on the floor in our living room, doing our very best to imitate an ancient Hebrew meal. I explained to my kids that Jesus probably ate pretty similarly to this, and they thought that was pretty cool. Even though our costumes and menu were a far cry from authentic, the Spirit was so strong as we concentrated on Jesus Christ that Easter Sunday.

I wrote it off as a one-time experience. But the following year, when Easter rolled around, sure, there was talk of candy and whatnot, but the most repeated question was, "Will we wear costumes and sit on the floor again?" I realized that my clumsy attempt at bringing Christ more fully into the center of our celebration had made a bigger impact than I realized, and we now have our "Jesus meal" every Easter. It's our own Pinkston family tradition. Granted, this year it was a little more frisky than usual, with Benjamin flinging olives around the room and not quite understanding why we wanted him to be reverent. Next year, though, he'll be old enough to grasp the concept that we're trying to be like Jesus, and the olive-flinging should come to an end.


However you chose to celebrate Easter this year, I hope you were filled with the love of the Lord and a sense of awe at the miracle of how very deeply He loves us. I know that He does; He has shown it to me and to my family in so many ways.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Okay, So That Was Stupid . . .

You've got to keep in mind that Scouting is a new thing for me. I about dropped my teeth when I was given the calling. So I do occasionally do something that's maybe not entirely something that a thinking person would do.

Take, for instance, elective 1b in the Wolf handbook. It's writing with invisible ink. Did you know that you can use milk and also lemon juice as ink? I was experimenting with it just the other day, and it works great. You let it try for a while, then hold it over a heat source and the words appear. The recommended heat source in the handbook is a light bulb. Well, it was daytime -- I didn't have any hot light bulbs so I flipped on the stove really low and held the paper over it. Poof -- there were the words. I was in business.

My Scouts showed up and we did a treasure hunt, using the codes in elective 1a. That went pretty well, all things considered. The last clue was done in invisible ink, and, thinking nothing could go wrong because I'd practiced, I showed the boys how to make the words appear, saying that I would hold the paper. Well, the paper caught and went up in flames. I shook it and got it to extinguish itself, and then I made a very careful point of showing the boys that the book suggests using a light bulb. Why didn't I use a light bulb? Well, it was daytime and I didn't have any hot ones and I . . . was just not using my head.

No one got hurt and the boys thought it was pretty cool, actually. I double checked that they understood that my demonstration was of the wrong way to do it, and they all said they figured that part out. And, amazingly enough, I haven't gotten phone calls from five confused parents wondering why I started a fire at den meeting. I think it goes without saying that I'll be much more careful from now on. It would be terrible to get fired (no pun intended) from a church calling for being stupid.
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