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Young Adult Readings – Open Book Blog Hop #51

June 6, 2016 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #51

How did the books you read as a teenager affect you?

Welcome back to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop! If you’re new to the series, the authors included are always grateful for your reads and appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors will engage and impress you weekly, so be prepared to become a regular reader.

I was fortunate to have parents who were focused on my getting an education, and all the support they could provide in addition to that. Therefore, I excelled. Reading came to me early, as well as writing and other things. The only thing I’d change is more help with math, but that is not really anything I have to gripe about. To be honest, the education system failed me in that vein more than anything. C-average students should be required to do remedial studies for a few weeks at the end of the year to see what they’re lacking and make up for it. Sure it would have sucked to lose some summer, but I would have had greater choice in what I eventually came to do for a living (because being an author requires working full time at something else to pay the bills. Don’t be fooled.)

My bedroom was one of my favorite places to be. There was a dresser with a hutch top that had book shelves, and we filled them with all kinds of books. My mother had enrolled me in a scholastic book program and things blossomed from there as I grew older. I still rather enjoyed children’s novels when I was a teen. They’re wonderfully written and the whimsy is pure escapism. Those days were fraught with so many dramas, that I did need something to sink into.

Outside of English class, I read a few Nancy Drew mysteries that were left behind by my Aunt and Uncles at my grandmother’s home. I leafed through her books, such as V. C. Andrews’s Flowers in The Attic. I didn’t dare read them, as they were frightening looking and I didn’t want to encourage nightmares. In hindsight, those would have been right up my alley. For a couple years, around sixteen, I took to romance novels.

At this point, I had been writing for a couple years already. I toyed with the idea of writing romances in this early stage, but other than the usual preoccupation with sex that teens have, there wasn’t much of a draw there. I preferred literature, like what I was reading in class. Although I didn’t yet emulate the masters, I was on track for that.

My first forays into authorship were Tolkien style fantasy. The introduction of fantasy came early, with many Disney works, fairy stories and the usual children’s fare. I didn’t read Lord of The Rings all the way through until one of the summers between the classes of my first years at college. My mother had read the series while pregnant for me. The Rankin & Bass production poster decorated my nursery. The Hobbit was given to me as shortened stories with read along records.

Film adaptations had a stronger influence upon me than the books. I was constantly busy and films were easier to consume along with homework. I look back and I can’t fathom how I have been working so hard for so long. My luck was always that I won the hardest classes with the toughest teachers. Never failed. This went on through college and manifests in my work life today. So, when I reached graduate school, it was like a cake walk for me, because I was prepared to work very hard, and know nothing differently.

In the readings of my youth, I saw many people (and some animals) I was able to relate to. Their hardships reached into me, and they showed me ways to overcome. They also showed me the things that I valued and wished to emulate. Slowly, I turned from a reader to a writer, desiring to tell tales that began to form in my head, stoked by the fires of the texts I had absorbed.

I miss being able to read with such eagerness. Becoming a writer, and the academic path I took, taught me how to critically look at every piece, and at times the joy is utterly sucked out of the effort.

Scroll down and click on other answers from other authors to see what they have to say on today’s topic…

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Patriotism Doesn’t Depend Upon It – Open Book Blog Hop #50

May 30, 2016 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #50

Memorial Day

Welcome back to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop! If you’re new to the series, the authors included are always grateful for your reads and appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors will engage and impress you weekly, so be prepared to become a regular reader.

Where do I begin? I mean, I have political beliefs (that this holiday has been blown way off course of where it should be by those competing to prove their patriotism) and I have my be a kinder person beliefs that seeks to give quarter to others should they deserve it or not. Is that kindness? Or is that just a desire not to kick the hornet nest?

I dislike parades, but I don’t begrudge anyone who enjoys them. I don’t see much sense in dragging people out to walk down the road to a drum beat. I should really check out where this even came from as a human practice. My head just filled with Monty Python skits and I’m getting distracted…

Being the child of a veteran who refuses to acknowledge his veteran-ship because he didn’t serve overseas during a war, I can be super prickly about the holiday. Dad raised me to respect men in uniform at the same time that he told me to be mindful that not everyone who wears one deserves to be honored. There are bad people all over. He taught me to see them clearly and either steer clear or put them in their place, depending. I was his scraper. The one he put in the giant tire and pushed down the hill until my mom yelled at him. I love my dad, even when he gets jerky (I can be jerky, too).

My Godfather, my dad’s best friend, was a Vietnam vet. He was an amazing uncle. I am friend with his children, which we accept as cousins. They are. Blood or not. We are family. I remember when Skip scared the crap out of me with a gorilla mask on Halloween, I was like three. He and his wife were the perfect couple. I have so much respect for him. Uncle Skip had no respect for wannabes. I agreed with him heartily on this. So many sign up our young men and women to go and get them killed for their profit, and they never stick their neck out. Then there are those who play Army, talking crap about the government and other Americans, blasting women and minorities for daring to breath American air and walk on American soil. I don’t get it. And, I don’t get why they think they respect our military more than anyone else, when they are so willing to sacrifice them (either to make profits for corporations like Halliburton, or leaving them out in the cold when they get back).

My grandfather served in the Merchant Marine, lying to get in, for World War II. His brother, family on my mom’s side, all served.

I had wanted to, but I was aware, because of my dad, the risk I took in so doing and I chose to write and wrangle with politics instead. That’s its own war, with lots of pseudo and actual heroes. Perhaps that is why I am a bit reserved, as to not like parades and flag waving. I think it’s also in that I was taught to question and to examine–and that my education (I studied politics in film and the industry) showed me the real faces and ugly truths behind a lot of things. That gets questioned by a lot of people who have no place questioning me, because they’re angry or stubborn or locked in to save face (but ride around with giant flags on their trucks/cars and t-shirts because that is somehow more meaningful). I keep on fighting, so that maybe one day, we won’t send soldiers to be killed for corporate profits, and then we won’t send them at all, because we’ve grown past our violence realizing that cooperation not competition, that love and not hate is the real way and truth.

I hope this has made some sense and hasn’t been a rant! LOL

Let’s hop on over to see how the other authors tackle outlines…

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Architecture of Writing – Open Book Blog Hop #49

May 23, 2016 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #49

What is your process for outlining a story?

Welcome back to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop! If you’re new to the series, the authors included are always grateful for your reads and appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors will engage and impress you weekly, so be prepared to become a regular reader.

If you’ve been following me about the internet, then you might have read my answer to this question before. As it was part of an interview, I didn’t go much into detail. The space only calls for short, blunt answers. To have it come up on the Open Book Blog Hop is my chance to better explain those abrupt answers. Hoping that they didn’t make me seem grumpy!

On the topic of outlining…My preference is to never outline. I write notes and keep them in a notebook or folder close at hand. When I’ve addressed the items on the note, I shuffle the to the back of the line or check them off if they’re written in my notebook. It may seem rather haphazard, but it’s a system that has developed for over 20 years. (Dear Lord, have I been writing that long?) I trust my system and it works for me. This is in no way a sales pitch to do things my way, but it might help someone who is a bit beside themselves thinking they are doing it all wrong. (Pssst! There is no wrong way.)

Many authors seek structure to keep them going. That is how they function. Everyone’s project is arrived at differently and will be completed differently. The rampant advice on the internet is simply the opinion of those who have been asked to elucidate their process. Some may come off as authoritarian, but don’t ever feel there is a formula to get you to the end goal. Facing that there is no easy way sooner rather than later is the best thing you can gift yourself. I’ve written several blog posts on the process myself. The irony of giving advice while telling writers to ignore advice isn’t lost on me.

The irony of writing notes and not outlining is additionally ironic. In a way, it appears that I may be struggling to build a sound structure on which to throw up the walls that will make chapters (rooms) and finally a book (house). Viewing the outline with the metaphor of architectural drawing helps us focus on how this piece is viewed by many writers. You wouldn’t throw up a shining skyscraper without a plan? How can you guarantee it doesn’t fall apart?

The extent of my plan is to figure out from where I start and to where I want to go. Once that is decided, the writing that ensues is ever chasing that end point. It becomes a squiggle between two points with plenty of loops on the way. Somehow, I always get there.

What’s most important for me is that I arrive at the end point organically. When plotting an outline, one can fall into the trap of cliché and other annoyances. It can also point them out, if you’re willing to criticize yourself honestly. Have you ever thought of doing the outline after? As a tool, it can really be quite useful to analyze your story. And, that brings me to the next point of why I don’t outline—it can cramp your style. Imagine writing out this great big outline and letting it rest for a few days only to come back to it and see the glaring holes! Organically writing your piece can tend to avoid these issues because you’re not manhandling the work to fit into an unnatural structure.

Before, I mentioned that I arrived at my system with 20 years of writing. The system adapts for each new work and each stage of the work. Outlines are not adaptable. They’re rigid for a reason: they are the map you laid out to get from point A to B. Absolutely you can change things in them, but then, they’re not doing their job by keeping you on track. A lot of work must go into outlines; a lot of forethought and insights. So you have to have all the research done, and clear eye to the end. I can’t imagine being set up like that. I’d flop.

When I set to work, I’ve done a good majority of the research, or have a really good idea of what I’m writing from years of historical studies and other travels. Most of my books aren’t started until I have had several years think on them. Perhaps all my outlining is done in my head then?

While doing my studies for my Masters, I started to see the screenplay as the blueprint for the film. In the case of film, this outline is imperative to finishing the project. Without it, the director will have a very difficult time getting their job done, as will the actors, as they will have no lines to prepare. Has it been done? Yes.

Films, however, are not novels. While my novels play like films in my head, they’re another animal and require a different approach. Likewise, they are not book reports or research papers, which are other projects that require outlining to keep direct on task. In my opinion, creative writing (short or long form), is more like painting. Certainly the artist plans, they sketch and imagine and execute. What you see in these stages is not something that resembles a clear outline. Art is organic by nature and requires the freedom it requires to become it’s best.

I hope I have made sense. Let’s hop on over to see how the other authors tackle outlines…

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The Name and The Pen – Open Book Blog Hop #48

May 16, 2016 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #48

Pseudonyms: What are your thoughts on them. Why did you choose to write under a pen name or why do you think writers shouldn’t? How did you come up with yours? What are interesting ones you wished you’d picked?

Welcome back to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop! If you’re new to the series, the authors included are always grateful for your reads and appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors will engage and impress you weekly, so be prepared to become a regular reader.

Very early in my writing I was aware of how little success I might enjoy in the writing field if it were known that I am a woman writing military, historical fiction or even science fiction and fantasy. The cold facts are that women are still not considered as capable as men in any field. If we are viewed as capable, then it is as scribblers of smut and girly stories. They can’t even respect the genres, Romance and Women’s Literature, where women dominate. They being both the industry and readers in a generalized sense, simply because the majority feel this way whether it is conscious or not.

This decision was made in my twenties, which was back in the 1990s. Most certainly there have been strides made since, but I am also coming from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. My history, and the history of the field, our world, our culture, is something I am very familiar with. After all, I do write historical fiction and I did study the political in novels and films. Whether we want to admit it or not, this is the reality.

I thought very long and very hard on what I was going to put on the covers of my books. After all, this was the name I would be labeled with for all time. Likely people would take to calling me this name, instead of my own name. Choosing a nomme de plumme is no easy task. Once you choose to do so, it becomes imperative that you do, the reasons to do so quickly outweighing the reasons to forget it.

When I was a girl, I was deeply attached to my great grandmother. Her name was Catherine to all who knew her, but Katherine to those in the family. The reason for the spelling discrepancy is disputed by the family to this day. Gramma Catie (Katie), also went by Kay. (Our family seems to have a K thing going on.) I remember her teacup with the name on it. I lost her when I was still a girl. She had contracted pancreatic cancer, and it slowly sapped the strength from her. I insist to this day that she too part of me with her, because the sun went down, so to speak, the moment I learned of her passing.

Always on the fringe of my thoughts, while I explored names I might like to call myself, Kay blipped through each deliberation. As I said before, it’s nothing to take lightly. A pen name is branding.

That’s another thing, branding, that authors often balk at. When we put pen to paper, or fingers to keys, with the idea of putting that work forward in the world, it becomes a commodity, as does the person who produced it. In the entertainment field, and writing is entertainment, the producer as well as the product are commodities. People want to know what drives you, where the work came from and other things, in a quest to unravel the work. Take, for instance, J.K. Rowling and Stephen King. These authors are as much sought after as their work. People fawn over them like rockstars. Their names are their own, but their solid brandable names. In my case, I have a name that is so common that 558,132 in the US have my first name. 1,834,625 have my last name. 3,174 women and men share my same name. You might recall a few famous Kelly Williams’s from television and film, and even in your town. So that left me with a second good reason to choose a pen name.

When I selected my first initial and my last name as my pseudonym, these were the things I had in mind. Above all, I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer and I could do so in a way that paid homage to my lost grandmother. Other authors choose to use a fake name for various reasons (belonging to a group that won’t approve being the biggest).

If writers wish to use pen names, I think it’s just fine for any reason they might have. The use of such a mask is a great story in itself.

Let’s hop on over to see what the other authors have had to say about pen names…

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Holly Hobby Writes – Open Book Blog Hop #47

May 9, 2016 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #47

How has your hobby made you a better writer?

Sample of what clothespin reindeer look like.

Alongside my desire to become a writer when I was a kid, I thoroughly enjoyed arts and crafts. Coloring in coloring books, drawing, painting and constructing clothes pin reindeer, among other things, was a wonderful outlet for all the energy and creativity I’m known for. Whether I am exhausted or not, I am still driven to complete the job, and do so efficiently and well. I think this came from literally learning to color between the lines. It taught me patience, which extended beyond the coloring page. The same with painting and drawing, even reindeer building.

Photograph – Sadie Sue Shagbottom Naps

Open Book Blog Hop, November 2014 Art Feature

White Pear

Umbrella – pencil on high weight paper

Adult Coloring in Progress

In later years (post undergrad college, about 2005), I took up photography in earnest. I had dabbled when I could with my parent’s camera, which was a fancy Nikon with which they were nervous to let me play. I took this amazing shot of a pumpkin I had carved, but since photography was film photography then, it was a rather expensive hobby to take up, so I never pushed it. Digital had come into it’s own by 2005, and with film and digital cameras, plus a good job to now pay for the expense, I began the task of learning how to use those tools. You can see my gallery on deviantArt.com. You’ll see digital work to support my writing, photography and traditional art. The gallery is broken up by topics on the left hand side. I even have galleries where I’ve retired work, so you can see my growth from year to year. Yes, prints are available and inexpensive.

The creative arts require both patience and know how. First of all, you need to gather to you all the tools you’ll need to complete your project. You have to have a clear vision of the project, even outlining how you’ll do it. And then, you have to patiently, if not painstakingly, construct that project. While I was a kid, I had patience to do all these things in the moment that I wanted to. I never had the drive to want to sit patiently and construct stories. It was too much like homework. A bit odd I didn’t like that idea, because I did like to play school when I was little. It wasn’t all the time, but, again, when the moment drove me.

Steampunk Compass – Open 1

Years later, beside school being the obvious mold from which I take my research ethic and skills, it was those arts and crafts that really honed my patience and taught me the worthwhile nature of sitting down to a project and seeing it through. My years of writing conversely got me through my masters program, and, before that, teaching myself to write screenplays.

This blog is an offshoot of my years actively creating, and I hope that it shows the degree of skill I’ve garnered from my lifelong practice. From graphics to new books, I put in everything I’ve learned, whether self taught or having taken a course. (Forgive my typos and glaring mistakes, as I sometimes am in a rush to get things posted on time.)

Did you know I also craft jewelry? Or that I’m teaching myself German? You can check out more of my art on here and here. I also cook!

Let’s hop on over to see what the other authors have had to say about how their hobbies feed into their writing…

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