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Monday, December 29, 2014

Full circle

Did anyone see the article in NY Times about Amazon's Unlimited ebook service? Times are changing, again! Once upon a time, the only way a write could get published was through a traditional publisher. Then, self-publishing came along. I, myself, rode that wave and made a nice tidy sum marketing myself through Google and social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Then, they started charging for ads. Today, it's too expensive for my small business to advertise on social media; and my posts don't show up without the ads. Therefore, that wave is over for me.

Today, writers have Amazon Kindle Unlimited giving their books away as fast as they can write them. The NY Times article says there are too many writers, and you know what that means? Basic supply and demand from Economics 101. Supply is up; price is down. That is just a fact of economic principles. So, what should we do about it?

For me, I'm using my experiences to teach in a classroom (at least until technology takes that away!). As far as writing, I'm doing it for my own pleasure. I enjoy writing; and, someday, if I work hard enough, perhaps someone will want to publish what I write. I guess I have gone full-circle: publishing, self-publishing, and now back to publishing.

What about you?

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Mystery Writing Basics

I found a nifty resource for mystery writers written by Gillian Roberts, author of You Can Write a Mystery. The information is a brief extract from her book and provides quite a bit of information that will get you started on your first mystery.

Lesson #1 —Where do you get your ideas?
Lesson #2 —Writing your character's stories.
Lesson #3 —Amateurs, Semi-Pros, and Pros: Who will be your sleuth?
Lesson #4 —What to think about when you think about your setting.
Lesson #5 —Descriptions the reader won't skip.
Lesson #6 — It's all in your point of view.
Lesson #7 —Making the reader care.
Lesson #8 — How to write what you know (about murder).
Lesson #9 — How to write what you don't know.
Lesson #10 — Talking about dialogue: Part I.
Lesson #11 — Dialogue, Part II: Ways to present dialogue.
Lesson #12 — Do actions speak louder than words?
Lesson #13 — Playing Fair and Keeping Secrets: Hiding clues.

Check it out on her website at GillianRoberts.com.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Garrett the Ferrett

I've been working on my Ferret in the White House story again. Polished it up one more time and sent it off to another editor. I can't seem to give up on this one. :)

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Detours

In my progress towards writing a mystery, I got sidetracked with an idea for a children's picture book.   So, now, I'm working on both of these at the same time. I've already got the picture book roughed out and I want to work on it through Christmas so that I can have it ready for critiques in January. Our writer's group has a one-day critique session in January in preparation for meeting the publishers and editors that come to the conference in March. So excited!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Cozy Mystery Bucket List - Part 2

So far, I've come up with a character, but she is not fully developed yet. The plot is beginning to weave its way through my brain - very slowly - inch by inch. I'm not going to tell you what it is, yet. Not until I get the book written. This blog will only tell you about my progress as I go along and how I am working it out. I hope it will inspire some of you to join me!

I am reading several books to get me started on this project:
  1. The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing by Evan Marshall. I bought both the book and workbook for this one. This provides very practical suggestions on how to go about writing your book. Excellent. I'm working on Chapter 3: Creating your Lead. 
  2. Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. I'm also working through this book, SLOWLY! Just started and I can already see that this will be very helpful.
  3. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I've read through chapter four, and I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to write, not just fiction, anything! Very good for motivation as well as practical instructions.
  4. Broken Arrow, The First Hundred Years by Steven L. Stapleton, J.D. (This is for background information on my setting, which will be Broken Arrow, OK)
  5. Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Linda N. Edelstein, PhD. I'm using this as a reference to help me develop my characters.
  6. I'm also reading lots of cozy mysteries as that is the genre I am working on and the type of book I read the most for entertainment.
So that's my reading list for right now. I have several more books I want to read, but I want to get through these first. Since I can't find an online class to help me, I'm depending on book for now. There are classes out there, but with my schedule, I'm not ready to attack them. I might do this in the summer. 

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Bucket List - Write a Mystery

I've been threatening to write a mystery for quite a while now. I completed a children's picture book (Garrett the Ferret, the White House Exterminator (never published), a children's mystery, The Moundbuilder Mystery (never published), and now I want to write a cozy mystery for adults. I don't really care if it gets published, although that would be awesome. My main goal is to complete the task and learn something in the process. So, here are the steps I'm taking:

1. I joined Sister's in Crime and SIC-Guppies. I need some help figuring out how to write a mystery!

2. I purchased a couple of books on fiction writing. I will review these as I complete them. I also hope to find a class on fiction writing that would help me. Still looking for that.

3. I'm spending part of my writing time trying to develop a character for my story. I'm also researching my potential setting. I don't have a plot yet, but I thought if I could develop a good character in a fun setting, perhaps the plot will come. I probably won't write much about the actual story line on this blog until much later. I don't want to talk it to death!

4. I'm trying to write more in general, just to keep my skills up and develop new ones.

5. I'm reading more cozy mysteries - as if that is a problem. I LOVE cozy mysteries!

6. Although I don't have a lot of time to do all this because of my teaching responsibilities and my role as chauffeur for Bill, I plan to commit to a minimum of one hour a day. I know I can keep that goal.

So that's the plan. More as I go.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Retirement Home Shopping

Yes, it's that time of life for us. Perhaps a bit early because of our situation, but it is time. My husband and I have decided that we need to move out of our 3,000 square foot house into a smaller place and a place where he can get some of the help he needs to be more active. Since he cannot drive (he is legally blind), he depends on me and friends to get him around. Because of this, we are looking into independent living communities. 


Our first stop was the Methodist Manor in Tulsa, Beautiful place, but out of our price range. You have to have more than $200K just to walk in the door! That one was out without looking! 

Next stop was Silver Arrow in Broken Arrow. This is a beautiful campus. The dining facilities is the star attraction as far as I could see. They have chefs on staff and serve five(?) course meals. I'm not sure how many courses, but it was a lot and it took a lot of time. The food was delicious, but I can't see myself spending two hours a day sitting around a lunch table. If you have nothing else to do, that would be excellent. But, I still work. So, that one is out for us. The cottage had lots of room which was a plus. No shuttle service, which is something we need. So another reason this one wouldn't work for us. Beautiful, though. 


Our next stop was Country Club of Woodlyn Hills where we met with T.R. Jones. As soon as we began walking around the campus, we could see ourselves living here. It's older and has been around for 25 years, so it's mature. The campus is cozy. The staff has been around for several years. Not a lot of turnover in staff or residents. You can sense that they have system and it works. There are two choices in living options: the cottages and the apartments. They provide all meals except Sunday dinner, transportation to bank or Dr., all utilities, once a week housekeeping and linen laundry, and if you need it, they provide help with medication monitoring, bathing, and other daily living activities. The price is on par with other independent living communities as well, but there is no buy in. You have a month to month lease. In addition, if you need more care than they can give, you will have to move to a different location, such as University Village, which is owned by the same company. 


We also considered a new facility that is just moving into the Tulsa area, Tapestry of Woodlyn Hills. This facility is an "in-between" facility - in between an apartment and an independent living facility. When completed, it will have a pool, outdoor walking trail, dog park, an exercise room, a library, craft room, movie theater, and a pool hall. They are planning to have activities for the residents, and you can reserve a room for private parties. They do not offer dining. The cost is about half to two-thirds of the cost of independent living, depending on your options. 


We put a deposit down on Country Club of Woodlyn Hills as this is the one that best meets our present needs. There is a waiting list, so while we wait, we will continue to see what else is out there. But I'm pretty sure this is where we will end up. 


Saturday, July 12, 2014

Day Trip

Last week, my husband Bill, Oreo, and I went on a day trip to Shiloam Springs, Arkansas. I wanted to visit the scrapbook store there called, Creative Corner on Broadway. We had a wonderful time!

On the way there, we stopped at Natural Falls State Park. What a beautiful park! There are all kinds of walking trails there from easy ones for strollers to the all-terrain trail of Dripping Springs that take you back to the falls.


The trails to the falls were nice, sometimes with boarded bridges:



At the end of this trail, it leads down several hundred feet to a waterfall:


It was cool and beautiful here. From there, we took an even more rustic trail around to a "lake" and back. In some places, the trail was climbing rocks! In addition, there were several steep climbs, not an easy trail. 


BRING WATER! I decided to do the trail a 2nd time and left Bill at the top. On my way down, I got dehydrated and almost passed out. Lucky for me, a nice couple came by and gave me some of their water! 

After our hike, we stopped for lunch (and met the couple who rescued me!). Then we went to the scrapbook store. The owner there was extremely helpful. I told her I wanted to make a mini album for a friend's baby. I picked out some super hero paper and she patiently explained what I needed and how to do it. If you live near this store, you must visit. She is a gem! 

I thought I'd add a photo of my finished product so you could see the results:






All in all, it was a fun day! 

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Did I tell you that I got a dog?

I've always been a cat person. Since the time I got married in 1970 until now, we've always had cats. (I did have one dog, but it was when I had little babies and I honestly don't remember "having" a dog.) We always had a pair of cats, at a minimum. Sometimes, we had three!

Two years ago, my husband's cat died. We discussed it and decided that after mine died, we would quit having pets so that we could do some traveling. Unfortunately, my daughter wasn't in on the conversation, and before you know it, she brought over a small baby kitten for my husband. He couldn't say no.

Eventually, my cat died. I decided that since Bill has a young cat, I might as well get one too. So, I went out and bought a cat from the local pet shop. He was just plain mean! He didn't like me and I have trouble liking him. I finally got mad and decided to go out and get a 3rd cat just for me.

I made the rounds to the various pet shelters and shops and decided that the one I saw at the first place was the one I wanted. But, when I got back to the shelter, there was this cage full of the most adorable puppies I have ever seen. I had to have one!

I brought home Oreo. She is a Shitzhu-Jack Russell mix and what a joy! I am now a converted dog lover! She is my pride and joy. I've had here over a year now, and I can't imagine life without her.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

One of my best days yet!

Today was a special day for me. I've been ill with the flu and had to find a substitute for my classes.  How excited it was to turn to my own daughter, Shelly, who has a Master's Degree in English, to take over my classes!

So, she did what she does best - she taught them a bit about Shakespeare. Next, she had them act out a portion of Star Wars in Shakespearean English. Finally, she had them write Get Well notes for me using what they learned. How much fun I had reading these notes! Here's two samples (some of them were pages long!):
"Hello thither, Mrs. Downes, I hearth thou hath fallen ill. Thou not weepeth, Maddam, for we be not shrewd in your absence. Thy daughter hath best us to learn greatly. Hark, we hath, and fain too. Cowish we hath obeyed thy spawn beautifully. I hopeth thou lurch over your illness and thou returneth soon. Alex"

"Harken unto me thither instructor. Word through the grapevine is that thou hast been bent by a cowish disease. Fie! To this abomination! Castest it out and returneth post haste. Joshiah"
Shelly had to give me a Shakespeare dictionary so I could interpret the letters. I sure am proud today of both my daughter for taking on all six of my classes and doing such a good job, and also of my students for being the best students in the state of Oklahoma!