A First Draft of A First Draft Machine

Mexican sunflower

I don't let Hope play near traffic because she'll get hurt.  Instead, I keep her close to my heart. ~ LRZ

A first draft is a tricky little devil.  It slips and slides out of grip.  Often times I wear myself out running through starts that cough and sputter.  Those are false starts that don't get the engine roaring.  I want a beginning that powers the piece.

Conference prep

I've been reading a lot about how we sit too much and about treadmill desks, so I thought I'd try the treadmill for hammering out a first draft.  The machine does not appeal to me at all for running.  A mile feels like ten when you're staring at cement walls and shelving filled with books and other stuff that you can't seem to part with.

I simply added a wooden table insert over the treadmill arms and voila, a desk.  It's dark in the cellar so, I enlisted the help of a retired dorm light.  Together my team and I are moving forward much faster putting words, okay scribbled words, on paper. 

Daylilies

Last post, I mentioned I wanted to start three things, but I hadn't even decided what three.  I hopped on that treadmill and walked my way through that decision, selecting three diverse projects.  Not only that, in one hours time, I wrote 2.5 pages of anything but neat writing.  That writing moved me forward on all three projects.   

The one bothersome aspect of this First Draft Machine is that it uses electricity.  Thus the trade-off becomes productivity versus energy use.  I am now thinking sitting on an exercise ball or standing may be enough movement to get momentum going on a first draft.  Next time I write a first draft, I will test out one of these ideas.  

Hydrangea

I used the treadmill prior to the 21st Century Children's Nonfiction Conference to read books by authors and publishing houses.  Aside from one book that I mentioned, that prep work was all but forgotten when I got there.  Stellar.  I noticed 2014 information is on the website.  I plan to return.

   

Zion National Park

I'm working on some stuff that is due October 1st.  I'll tell you more about that near month's end (when I find out if I'm doing this right!).

Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Woods Hole!  I put a lanyard on the camera to hang it around my neck so it is not in my hands, but easily accessible.  If it gets too heavy, it's going in the backpack.   

These are photos of wildlife at Zion National Park.  The flower is a Sacred Datura which has many names such as moon lily and jimson weed.  It's not the only thing that wilts in the mid-day heat.  "This is a poisonous, narcotic plant that can lead to death if eaten."  It is HIGHLY toxic and I think back on how close I was to touching it when I photographed it (this is the kind of stuff that would freak out my mother when she'd read my blog!).

There are quite a few lizards in Zion.  This little guy was glued to a woman's baseball cap.  She said her friend put him on her cap and he stayed there.  Realistically, while she is walking, where is he going to go?   The mule deer didn't budge when half a dozen or more people stood there taking photographs.  

  

Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park - 2

The big news is that I'm honored and grateful to be a jolly good fellow--a Woods Hole Fellow!   It's coming up fast, so I'm trying to write up everything from my trip out West before I'm deluged with details for more story ideas.  On the road trip, I stopped at two research facilities.  So far, I've completed an article and picture book for one place.  I still want to do two more for the second research stop.  

While in Rocky Mountain National Park, we hiked 4.4 miles to the top of Flattop Mountain (elevation 12,324').  I've never hiked a mountain so high.  I only threw up once--thankfully it was a half mile from the finish.  At the top, the howling wind was incredible.  It wore us right out.

  Tyndall Glacier is visible from the tundra at the top.  While trekking to the summit, we passed a noisy ptarmigan, a beefy yellow-bellied marmot and a whole lot of wildflowers like this blue columbine.

Walt and I are gearing up to deliver a much needed car to California, then we're flying back.  I'm hoping to slip in some research trips along the way.   It would also be nice to stumble upon some new stories while visiting National Parks across the country.  If all goes well it will be a trip that includes  research, hiking, nature and adventure.

My writing friends thought my ever changing piece that started as scraps--> article --> picture book is working!  It was SO nice to meet on a picnic table out by the pond in town.  We gazed in wonder as a blue heron flapped its wings over the water.

I thought these photos of a bee and rhododendron worked perfectly after getting stung--more like punched in the gut with the wind knocked out of me.  Not all rejections from editors feel that way, but this one did.  It is a fine time to hop in a car and go hike a mountain or twenty.  When I come back, The Revisions will be waiting for me and hopefully, absence will make the heart grow fonder.

Today I went to Rhode Island to attend a SCBWI P.A.L (published and listed) roundtable discussion.  Most of those in attendance were authors.  I must admit when I received the handwritten invitation I thought, clearly there must be some mistake.  Clearly.  Clearly, I was wrong.  It was nice to be included  with a group that I don't yet feel I belong in.  Melissa Stewart led the discussion about how SCBWI can better serve its published members.

It's funny how things have been moving and progressing.  First I recycled the scraps of an article and turned those into a short piece.  I saw more potential in it, so it's getting transformed into a picture book.  Although I wasn't done, I shipped it off to Critique Land.  Now, I'm barreling ahead to meet a deadline on something else that I'm a little apprehensive about--but of course I'm not letting that stop me. 

These beautiful and interesting annuals are gazanias.  At night, they curl up their petals.  By morning, the spikes unfold into stunning orange stars.   Brilliant blue lobelia is behind the gazania and a rhododendron bush is in the background.

? and rhododendron

This week, I put a new front end on an article per the editor's request.  Now it matches the tail end which had been revised during the editing process.  The whole thing is like a hearty sandwich with the meat between two matching slabs of bread.  The publication date got pushed back to October 2012.  Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches in this business.

There is excitement in the air!  Graduation season is upon us and boy, oh girl, oh girl, do we have graduates!    

I don't know what this white flower is, sorry to say, but I do like the way it looks in front of a brilliant blue sky.  The pink flower is a rhododendron. 

Tulip and kerria

In my early days of writing, it was sufficient to go to a conference and listen and absorb as much as I could.  At this stage in the game I am finding it much more beneficial to go with a WIP in hand.  I came out of the NESCBWI nonfiction academy with more critiques and some concrete ideas on how to improve my manuscript.   It was well worth it for me.  This week, I revised and revised, whittling, carving and shaping the manuscript into a tighter story.  Next Tuesday, my friends and I will exchange notes, discuss what we learned and how we applied it, and critique revised manuscripts.  Can't wait!

On May 16th, I will be joining the CT Climate Change Education Communication Group on a field trip to Harkness Memorial Park to see how climate change has impacted that park.  The word "field trip" brings me such glee.

My favorite tulip reminds me of royalty.  The cascading yellow flowers are kerria, which grows in a bush. 

Forsythia and hyacinths (and frog)

Today my writing friends and I piled in a van and drove to Massachusetts to stuff 650 folders for the NESCBWI conference next weekend.  With eleven people helping, we got done in about two hours.  I met some of the people that are heavily involved in organizing the conference.  The NESCBWI has about 2,200 members and accounts for 10% of SCBWI's worldwide membership.

This is an uber busy week.  I'm going out of state five times, so I don't expect to get much writing done, but I will try. 

Book Review - Wheels of Change by Sue Macy

Azalea

Last summer, I won a book from Sue Macy on the I.N.K. blog.  Recently, I finally got around to reading it.  Wheels of Change is a nonfiction book published by National Geographic publishers about the history of the bicycle.

Design: The book has a vintage/retro look.  It's filled with historical photographs of items you might find at an antique sale.  Circular photographs and text in circular shapes are clever methods of reinforcing the wheel and the idea of rolling forward.

Text: It's eye-opening.  Often we hop on our bikes and go for a ride, but seldom do we ponder what it was like before the bicycle.  Who knew that at one time the pedals were on one side of the bike to accommodate long petticoats?  The book took me back in time and left me thinking and wondering.  Who could have guessed the bicycle had such a profound impact on women's attire?  I wish I could bring my grandmother back and ask her about petticoats and bicycles.
    Although it's for young adults, I see no reason why college fashion design professors couldn't use this in their curriculum to teach the history of fashion.  College students would LOVE to read a book like this versus a stale textbook.  The book won the YALSA award for excellence in nonfiction.

The wind sweeps up Mary Poppins in her azalea petticoat

Asiatic lily and coreopsis

I've adjusted to the new reality by looking at things differently. Instead of standing in the street and gazing at the top of a skyscraper and thinking what a devastating fall, I stand in the street gazing at the first floor thinking you can do it. You can get there. One step at a time. It's the same with writing. When you look at the mountain top and see the happy faces they seem so unreachable, but taking one careful step at a time you will move toward that peak and enjoy the journey more. Hopefully, after a week at Chautauqua there will be noticeable improvements all around. I am SO looking forward to getting away, attending lectures, meeting new people, enjoying the arts, listening to feedback and most of all immersing myself in the writing world. I have much to discuss with a mentor.

The top photograph is an Asiatic lily. They are stiff flowers that last a long time in bouquets. The bottom is coreopsis, a profusely flowering plant.

Clematis

Lately I've been thinking big, big, big. Before I act, I have to do some research and make some decisions. Speaking of decisions, I'm real happy with mine and where they've taken me. I'm leaving for Chautauqua Friday morning and staying in Jamestown Friday night. The way bombs drop around here, I'll believe it when I get there.

This clematis has been creeping through the holes in the lattice and is profusely flowering on both sides of the railing. A fine vine indeed.

Hydrangea

All the pieces of my current writing project are done except one. Hopefully, this week I can steal away some time to finish the meat of the thing. It's a powerful package.

Here's another recipe for busy writers. I made this yesterday and loved it. The apricots hold up real well and don't turn brown or mushy the second day.:

Cranberry Apricot Chicken Salad
- Use leftover chicken or grill boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used a grill pan).
- Chop chicken.
- Add chopped fresh apricots, dried cranberries and mayo. Season with salt, pepper and a bit of tarragon
- Serve over lettuce, between bread or eat it straight

I've been shuttling back and forth to the hospital all week. This morning, I picked a bunch of hydrangeas and brought them with me. Would I love them as much if they were pink? The soft blue petals are striking They remind me of fresh fallen snow.

Purple Iris

The bucket of life has spilled once again. I can turn the pail upright, but I'm not sure I can collect all that was lost (can you tell we've been painting the house?). I've been thinking a lot about what the future holds. Well, I don't have an answer. No one does. Despite what is going on with others, I've got to pursue what I'm destined to pursue. In the past, I've hobbled over obstacles by telling myself I'll find a way. I'll find a way. I WILL find a way. I always do.

Needless to say, I've been too distracted to send any emails and part of me is wary of a negative response or no response at all, but I'll get there. I will.

There is no better photograph for today than iris' that were given to me by my mother.

Orchids

I lingered in the orchid room at the Botanical Gardens admiring the flowers and pondering the lure of their petals. I am not certain if all of these are orchids though.

Today, I will spend the day pouring through the _ _ _ ing (rhymes with pouring) pages of my daughter's high school chemistry book. Zzzzz. About 1/3 of my article is pretty polished.

I don't know what it is about that little 500 word piece of fiction that keeps me coming back for more. There is a lot in there--a humorous (or so I hope) main story, a connection to curriculum and a third little thing that leaves a reader wondering. I am pleased with it and I do think it's done (until I pick it up again).

Another thing I need to do soon is to review the Chautauqua workshops and start making some preliminary decisions about what classes I might want to take. Fun fun fun!!!

Orchid

When I read The Orchid Thief, it was a turning point in my writing. I doubt this creative nonfiction book would have any significance for anyone else, but it did for me. It made me realize a key thing I was consistently getting wrong. I was reminded of that great book when we toured the U.S. Botanical Gardens in Washington D.C. After climbing flights of stairs, I walked along the inside perimeter of a 93-foot dome in the Conservatory. Essentially, I was in the mezzanine, the steamy tree canopy of a tropical rain forest. I loved the Botanical Gardens.

It's only fitting that I post some photographs and a link to a video tour that is more representative of what the place really looks like inside.

Currently, I'm working on three things, the chemistry article, a revised first chapter from several years ago (wow, WHAT an improvement), and that piece of fiction that I am enjoying tinkering with. Now that I really have a handle on the article (or so I think), I need to come up with questions for the three scientists. I'm happy to say it's pretty much down on paper, the beginning is really polished, but it loses steam quickly.

Cherry tree and tulips

I'm off and running in one direction on this article, whether it's the right one remains to be seen. It all depends on the concept they want to convey. I've got a pretty decent first couple of paragraphs that I think can withstand any change in focus of the article. The new printer is here and very much in use printing research papers and everything I need to critique (done!). Twinky has made nine blank copies, but she doesn't seem interested in reading them.

They say the climate is changing and spring is arriving two weeks earlier than it used to. During April vacation, it was beautiful to experience an early bloom by traveling to D.C. Mass plantings of tulips were everywhere. The bottom photograph, "the citrus collection," was taken while passing the beautiful grounds of the Marriott enroute to the National Zoo. The Cherry Blossom Festival had passed and there was one lonely tree by the Tidal Basin that must have been sleeping during the festivities. It's great to come home to a second bloom that is just starting here in CT.

Flower garden and rose

Many years ago, I visited the FDR house, but I don't remember this rose garden where Franklin and Eleanor were buried. "Roosevelt," by the way, means field of roses.

I'm hunkering down in the library today in hopes of getting a lot of revising done. I have a really tight critique deadline next week and I'd love to have this ready by then, even if it hardly seems possible at this time. Translation: I can not be reached.

Dahlia

I'm pretty sure this glowing flower is a dahlia.

Despite a host of things this week, I'm happy to report some great progress fact checking my current project. Everything is over 90% verified except one sidebar which is about 30% done. I've been pretty bent on finishing up by the 11th and it's looking good. Now I'm hoping there aren't 400 proposals on the same topic sitting on the editors desk while I work my buns off to complete these changes. That would be my luck.

Daylillies, petunias, lobelia....

I finally put new batteries in the camera so the website should look a little brighter again. The potted flowers are on my deck. I spend a lot of time reading and revising out there.

I've been really driven to complete some sidebars and revamp an outline. Currently, three of four sidebars are complete, but not perfect. I set a deadline to have all these chapter changes polished by my next crit group email date which should be three weeks from this Wed. Then the following week we give each other a round of tough love. I also decided to join Toastmasters to become more comfortable at speaking and better equipped to answer questions on the fly. The first meeting I was the timer and I got an easy subject to talk about, what I did on the Fourth of July--beach party! I think it's going to be real helpful.

Kerria

A number of years ago, a friend gave me a long shoot from a kerria plant. It's grown to be a beautiful bush at the edge of the woods. When it blooms it's a cascading waterfall of golden pom poms.

I worked all weekend getting the second chapter polished up nicely, but I still have to verify the newly added information is accurate. I'm happy it's in great enough shape to email to my crit group on Wednesday.