Merry Christmas!

Cherry Tree in Snow
copyright Zan Marie Steadham 2010

Christmas Promise

Lit by a star's glory,

The promise of Christmas

Starts with a baby's cry.

Its light is a beginning

And with Easter's dawn,

The promise is complete.

 

from A Christmas Walk

Zan Marie Steadham copyright 2010

Merry Christmas! I pray your holidays are bright, peaceful, and joyous. See you next week.

A Fifth Cherry Hill Story?

Truly, I had no clue that my subconscious brain was working on another Cherry Hill story, but this last week during my mother's pacemaker surgery and recovery (she's doing very well), another story popped up. In my last post, A Sentence A Day, I shared the sentences I've written for an exercise at the Forum. Hidden in those sentences was the kernel for a whole new story. ; )

I had thought about and worked on four possible Cherry Hill stories before that:

• FRIENDLY FIRE--about Laura Grace Chandler meeting Samantha Smith, an abused foster child
• CONSUMING FIRE--about the prosecution of Samantha's abusers and a growing relationship between Laura Grace and Mack Singer
• LINE OF FIRE--about Laura Grace's new family and the discovery of Mack's unknown son, a young Marine
• HEART FIRE--about Samantha's children and the aging of her mother

Well, now I know there's a prequel to FRIENDLY FIRE. The working title is CAMP FIRE and it's about Laura Grace's first husband, Tom Chandler. The following sentences are the genesis of the story:

• "Well, she’s pretty enough and has the Chandler coloring,” her silver hair didn’t shift as she turned back to me, “but you know she’s not a real Chandler, Laura Grace.”
• The embossed ivory invitation was from the one address I'd hoped never to see again, and the initials on the flap--HCC--made my stomach clench.
• Over the years her eyes had faded to ice blue and now they looked on my child with chilling disapproval.
• Her perfume was the same--a mix of rose and gardenia--but with a subtle addition I could only identify as old lady skin.
• I had never faced her without Tom at my side, but now that my knight was gone, I was on my own, and I was Samantha's only shield.

All of them describe Laura Grace's first mother-in-law, Hazel Cherry Chandler. I'm working on a scene for FRIENDLY FIRE in which Hazel meets Samantha. That's when I realized I had a story brewing about Hazel and her son Tom.

Here's a taste of what I've discovered:

• "While the extravagant charity of the Cherry and Chandler families is well known, Thomas, we do not practice it with our marriage vows."
• "My vows are charity only if you use the Biblical definition of the word—love. But that wasn't what you were referring to, was it, Mother?"
• The warmth of the flame consuming the pine limbs spread up his arms and the tension wiring his shoulders taut eased, a sharp contrast to the cold tone Mother had used to voice her displeasure of him and his plans.
• She was still spare and elegant, and so was the room.

FRIENDLY FIRE is still on the front burner and is 85% complete, but it's gratifying to know I'll never run out of something to say about my favorite family in Cherry Hill. ; )

A Sentence A Day

If you ever wondered how writers keep themselves inspired after the intensive work of NaNoWriMo, here's one way. Carol Krenz, a wonderful writer and all around great person, came up with a humdinger of an exercise for us at the Books and Writers Forum. After we wrote a lot of words for NaNo in November, she took inspiration from this quote form Ernest Hemingway:

"All you have to do is write one true sentence. The truest sentence you know."

And so the December inspiration--A Sentence A Day--was born. Many of the writers who frequent the Forum are posting a sentence a day for the last twenty-nine days of December.

Here are a few of the ones I've posted so far.

Dec. 3--Sharp pain flashed up my neck and wound around my jaw, curling behind my ear.

Dec. 4--I stared at Mack; even his boots were camouflaged and not just with mud.

Dec. 5--Blowing out my arteries would be the best option because snapping at Mack and Samantha—or heaven forbid—Alex would only add to my stress load.

Dec. 6--“Well, she’s pretty enough and has the Chandler coloring,” her silver hair didn’t shift as she turned back to me, “but you know she’s not a real Chandler, Laura Grace.”

Dec. 7--The sandwich shop’s AC chilled my sun-warmed skin; that was only fair for now it matched my heart.

Dec. 8--The embossed ivory invitation was from the one address I'd hoped never to see again, and the intitials on the flap--HCC--made my stomach clench.

Dec. 9--Over the years her eyes had faded to ice blue and now they looked on my child with chilling disapproval.

Dec. 10- Her perfume was the same--a mix of rose and gardenia--but with a subtle addition I could only identify as old lady skin.

Dec. 11- I had never faced her without Tom at my side, but now that my knight was gone, I was on my own, and I was Samantha's only shield.

And one to grow on while my mother has pacemaker surgery on Wednesday. Keep us in your prayers.

Dec. 12- Momma had faded; her skin a thin, old ivory marked by fine dark lines of veins detailed as a roadmap, and if only I'd known what care to insist on, Samantha could meet her Grandmother Grace to counteract meeting her Grandmother Hazel.

How are you keeping your writing going during this hectic holiday season?

Mini-Reviews II, NaNo Round-Up, and Breaking News

This week I wanted to share some mini-reviews, so you can create your Christmas wishlist with some books I know you'll love. ; )

CALL THE MIDWIFE Jennifer Worth
Memoir that the PBS series is based on. The heartbreaking truth about the life in East End London in the 1950's is told with wit, feeling, and care.

HAND ME DOWN Melanie Thorne
Intense story of an abused child. You won't forget this story and if you care for children, it will be a wake-up call. Must Read

THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN Kate Morton
The mystery at the heart of Kate Morton's book unfolds into multiple layers. You'll be guessing until the end. Must Read

THE RIVER WITCH Kimberly Brock
Complex story full of wonderful symbolism and beautiful imagery that weaves mysticism and reality with a great story. Must Read.

THE UNDERSIDE OF JOY Sere Prince Halverson
Intense story about mothers and stepmothers. Good read. (Warning: You'll need a box of tissue. ; )
The main character Ella Beane is wonderfully complex and Halverson has a sure hand with back story. The plot rips along.

WHEN SPARROWS FALL Meg Moseley
Christian women's fiction--good story that takes on how faith can become twisted by ego. Good read

NaNo Round-Up
My final NaNo total was 15,013. I'm thrilled, happy, and can't wait to dig into these words for a bit of editing.

Breaking News
If you haven't heard yet, Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting! For those of us who enjoy watching Britain's Royal Family, it's great news.

Chugging Along...

I started today with only 11,338 words in my mini-NaNo quest. Reality says that I won't even make the 30,000 goal we set in out Mini-NaNo thread on the Forum. Add the fact that I've not been writing very much for the last week--only 388 words--and didn't write at all on four days of the last 9 and you can't expect much.

This morning I had a reality check and counted how many I could conceivably write in the last four days. A thousand isn't too big and if I can power through for the days remaining in the week, I can hit what I'm calling a "micro-mini-NaNo" total of 15,000.

Happily I can report that I've already added 1050 to the total today, so I'm on my way.

12,338 and counting.

How are you doing?
Are you going to reach the magic number of 50K or will you join me with a lower, but achievable goal?

Keep Writing...the month isn't over yet! ; )

Occupational Hazards

Do you ever think of something you need to jot down for your writing in bed...in the dark? I do. And I'm proud of my ability to write legible notes on the notepad from the bedside table without turning the light on.

Until the writing isn't legible. ; ) Occasionally there is one that trails off into a series of unreadable squiggles and an ink blotch. Sometimes the blotch isn't just on the notepad. ; )

On a more serious note, there are true occupational hazards to writing.

• Repetitive motion stress injuries in hands and wrists--the dreaded Carpel Tunnel Syndrome
• Chronic pain in neck and shoulders
• Lack of sleep

Of course, family and friends always claim that we "daydream" about our stories instead of participating in real life. (As if our stories aren't real! ; )

How do you combat writing's occupational hazards?
What other occupational hazards can you identify?

NaNo update: 10,984. I'm slowing down, but that's okay. That's still a lot of new words to work with.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all in the US and have a wonderful Thursday to the rest of you. ; )

WIP Blog Hop and a NaNo Check Up

www.123rf.com

 

I'm excited to participate in this WIP Blog Hop! Thanks again to my fellow Forum and Muse buddy Lara Lacombe for tagging me.

Here are the questions:
What is your working title of your book?

FRIENDLY FIRE

Where did the idea come from for the book?

From a dream—really ; ) I saw the first scene during a nap and as the day went on, I’d figured out the basic story.

What genre does your book fall under?

Women’s Fiction/Family Saga

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Kathy Bates and a young Dakota Fanning

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Laura Grace Chandler is a retired teacher who is recently widowed and thinks her life is over until she meets an abused foster child who turns Laura Grace’s life upside down.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I hope I can go the agency route. Keep your fingers crossed.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I’m still working on it :)

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS and some of Jodi Picoult’s books

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

All the my students from 25 years of teaching—and the caseworkers and foster parents who try to help the abused heal.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There’s an interesting potential love interest who shows up at the end of the book and FRIENDLY FIRE is the first of four stories set in Cherry Hill, Georgia.

I'd like to pass this Hop on to S. P. Bowers.

NaNo Check-In:
As of November 11, I have written 8594 new words for FRIENDLY FIRE. Guess what my doggies said about the bit I read to them--"Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!" ; )

How is NaNo going for you?

 

What's the Genre?

What genre do you write?

I'm guessing you've heard that question more than a few times. Is there clear cut definition for the genre you prefer? If so, you're blessed. ; )

Of the three genres I write--one is very clear cut (devotional), one has several sub-categories (Science Fiction), and one is all over the place (women's fiction).

It's the definitions of Women's Fiction that give me a headache. Many start with, "written by women for women readers." Do you know of any genres that are defined as "written by men for men readers?" This definition frustrates a lot of women's fiction writers.

One of the best places to get a feel for this is at Amy Sue Nathan's Women's Fiction Writers. Juliette Fay has a great take on this problems in her interview at Women's Fiction Writers. Juliette's latest book, THE SHORTEST WAY HOME has a man as the main character and is still classified as women's fiction.
"But maybe there’s a different question you’re asking: how does the gender of the writer affect the way a book is labeled, regardless of the gender of the main character. If that’s what your wondering, and if I’m being completely honest … I think that if someone in possession of a set of testicles had written this book, it would be called general fiction. After all, it’s not just about a man—it’s about a single man with no children. But since it’s ultimately a family drama, and I have ovaries, it’s called women’s fiction."

Her definition of the genre is "I think of women’s fiction as family drama, and I wish they’d use that label instead. But the women’s fiction label doesn’t really bother me, because a rose is a rose. Happily, there are a lot of people who want to read family drama/women’s fiction—and, hey, I’m here to help."

One of the issues with a gender based definition of a genre is the assumptions that books in the genre won't seriously written or about deep topics. That's a shame. I've read a lot women's fiction that deal with abuse, family disruption, life-threatening illness, and relationships among family members, both male and female.

What's you opinion on genre definitions that take into account the gender of the writer? Is is fair?