Spring Cleaning Writer's Tag

Spring is my favorite season, and where I live, most of the trees have burst out in brilliant green and wildflowers are peppering the thick grass with color. I really should be working on spring cleaning my actual house . . . but Deborah O’Carroll’s blog tag is far more fun! She created this challenge and tagged me.

Rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you

2. Share the picture

3. Answer the questions (naturally...) or even pick and choose which ones you answer

3.5 Tag 3 other writers and inform them that you tagged them

Questions:

1. Dust-Bunnies and Plot-Bunnies: Reorganize Your Writing Goals (Or Make New Ones)

In my first post of the year, I listed a few goals. They haven’t changed much, but at least one of them is getting more concrete: publishing my retelling of “The Bremen-Town Musicians.” (I really should set a calendar date for that, but that calendar has to be very forgiving if I do.) The other goals – working on my longer novels and exploring short story ideas – are a little nebulous, but I poke at them now and then. I do have two new goals: 1) finishing the first draft of another animal fairy-tale retelling (any guesses as to what it is?) and 2) getting as much as I can out of the Colorado Christian Writers Conference in May (so excited about going!).

2. Which Stage Are You At?

Everyone’s writing (and spring-cleaning) processes are different, and at different stages. Pick the one that most applies to you and tell us where you are in your writing process!

a. Remodeling layouts (planning the story)

b. Painting the walls in colorful hues (writing)

c. Polishing the windows and scrubbing the floors and putting flowers in the vases (editing)

d. Blueprints (not to the cleaning or remodeling yet . . . just drawing up plans for the very beginning inklings of a story)

e. Some combination of those things (cleaning out a closet)

I pick b – painting the walls. Most of my editing is done with the Bremen-town musicians story (that’s going to have an official title soon, I promise!), so I’m having fun writing my newer stories, particularly the Six Cousins novel set in Prince Edward Island and the other fairy-tale retelling.

3. Treasure from the Back of the Closet: Snippet Love

How about some snippets from my children's story “The Bremen-Town Musicians”? These contain each of the main characters: Etzel the donkey, Jäger the dog, Katarina the cat, and Rüdiger the rooster.

Etzel the donkey just couldn’t face walking to the mill this morning. His knees and back ached as if the heavy sacks of grain or flour he often carried were already on his back. His master, Herr Hoffmann, stood at the doorway to the shack, clucking his tongue like an angry woodpecker.

“Ach! Are you coming or not, you insolent, lazy beast?”

The sun had reached its peak about an hour ago and was slipping now. Its blinding warmth lay like a blanket on Etzel’s back, as if tucking him in for sleep. Ah, it was like sunning in the pasture; he ambled so rhythmically he felt he was standing still. It had been too long since he had walked this far without aching from a burden. When they first started out together, Jäger had gone from tree to tree, rejoicing in the freedom of new sights and smells; but now he kept a steady pace beside Etzel.

Instead, the cat gave a tremendous sneeze and cough, spraying water all over Jäger, who leaped back and fell into the stream as if he’d been shot. “It—it—it’s alive!”

The cat raised a bleary-eyed head, blinking at Etzel and Jäger with a green, filmy gaze. It coughed again, delicately this time, and ran the tip of its pink tongue around the edge of its mouth. “Of course I’m alive, Dummkopf. I’m a cat, aren’t I?”

“Who’d have thought a rooster was so smart!” Jäger exclaimed. “You talk smarter than Etzel; I almost can’t understand you.”

“Thank you, my good fellow. I merely quote the wisest of them all, the great animal storyteller, Aesop himself.” Rüdiger’s red crest stood high and his gold, green, and brown feathers puffed out, swelling his size.

If you want to do this, consider yourself tagged and please let me know! You can visit Deborah’s original post for more information on the challenge.

Jane Austen Week Blog Tag

Love Jane Austen? This is for you! Hamlette’s Soliloquy is hosting an I Love Austen Week blog event this week, February 11-18. I’m absolutely thrilled to participate in the blog tag, as Jane Austen is one of my favorite topics. Check out Hamlette’s master post to explore all the other activities for the week.

The Tag:

1. Which did you experience first, a Jane Austen book or a movie based on one?
An audio book of Pride and Prejudice. I was young (maybe about twelve) and I didn’t understand it all that well, so it didn’t make much of an impression. But in my teens I read the novels and fell in love before I saw all the movies.

2. What is your favorite Austen book?
Sense and Sensibility. I love the characters, especially the sweet relationship and personality contrast between the sisters Elinor and Marianne. They go through so much together. When the opportunity arose for me to participate in a new series retelling the Jane Austen novels in the 1930s, there was no question which one I’d pick: Sense and Sensibility. My love and appreciation for the original has grown even more.

3. Favorite heroine? Why do you like her best?
Elinor Dashwood. The other Austen heroines are all wonderful, but there are so many reasons why I like Elinor best, I don’t know where to start. She’s a picture of the ideal woman, who’s sweet and kind yet strong, capable, level-headed, and resilient. She puts other people’s needs over her own. I tend to favor quiet, unassuming characters like her. I also see aspects of myself in her—I try not to let my emotions show overmuch, and I’m more of a listener than a talker. She’s a role model for me . . . if I’m somewhat like her already, maybe I can be more like her in other admirable ways.

4. Favorite hero? Why do you like him best?
Edward Ferrars—to go with Elinor, of course! I know he’s not a popular hero, but I think he’s extremely sweet. They’re good for each other. He’s quiet and unassuming as well, but not so sure of himself as Elinor is of herself. Even though he’s not bold, he has the courage and principles to make hard, honorable choices.

5. Do you have a favorite film adaptation of Austen’s work?
So far, I would have to say either Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility or Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth’s Pride and Prejudice. I think S&S is a delightful and well-made movie, even if it leaves out much of the book, and I find P&P to be an accurate and completely entertaining version.

6. Have your Austen tastes changed over the years? (Did you start out liking one story best, but now like another better? Did you think she was boring at first, then changed your mind? Etc.)
My tastes have changed somewhat. I listened to a couple of audio books first and thought them a little dry, but that changed when I read the books myself and found them lovely and fascinating. She used to be hands down my favorite author, one who could do wrong, but as I’ve gotten older, other authors have joined her at the top (namely Elizabeth Goudge and Elizabeth Gaskell) and I can acknowledge that she’s not perfect. Her books seem lighter than they used to since I’ve matured. But I haven’t ceased to thrill over her whenever she’s being discussed, and reading her books are like coming home in winter to a warm cup of tea.

7. Do you have any cool Austen-themed things (mugs, t-shirts, etc)? (Feel free to share photos if you want.)
Um . . . I’m a bit of a collector, so yes, I do. Some of my favorites include a shoulder bag with her profile printed on it and quotes about all her heroes; a book about the Jane Austen House Museum (Chawton Cottage) that I bought when I visited there; greeting cards with Hugh Thomson’s illustrations; a piano book; and playing cards with quotes and pictures.

8. If you could ask Jane Austen one question, what would you ask her?
Only one? Well, I suppose she’d be busy answering a whole line of us if she were open to querying at all! I love the questions that other bloggers in the tag have asked, but I’ll choose: “Can you give me some tips on analyzing human nature and using that knowledge in fiction?”

9. Imagine someone is making a new film of any Jane Austen story you choose, and you get to cast the leads. What story do you want filmed, and who would you choose to act in it?
I want to see a version of Mansfield Park that I can unequivocally like. The 1983 version, with Nicholas Farrell and Sylvestra Le Touzel, comes the closest, but I have issues with some of the characters. As for who I would cast . . . I must apologize, but I have no idea! I don’t know my actors and actresses that well.

10. Share up to five favorite Jane Austen quotations!
“My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.” - Anne Elliot, Persuasion

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” - Henry Tilney, Northanger Abbey

“Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.” Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility

“My being charming is not quite enough to induce me to marry. I must find other people charming – one other person at least.” Emma Woodhouse, Emma

“We all have a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person can be.” - Fanny Price, Mansfield Park
 

Jane Austen Watercolor, public domain

Make sure you go to Hamlette’s Soliloquy for more Jane Austen merriment! What would you say in answer to any of these questions above?

Infinity Dreams Award

I needed something for my blog today, so Faith Blum’s post on the Infinity Dreams Award was just the thing! She tagged whoever wanted to do it, so I held out my hand for it. I’m not really sure what “Infinity Dreams” means, but oh well. The questions are quite interesting. Thanks, Faith!

Tell us eleven facts about yourself.

1. This is the hardest part of these types of tags for me: coming up with eleven facts to share about myself. ;)
2. My brother and sister-in-law just had their first baby (a boy), so I am now an aunt!
3. My favorite colors are various shades of blue—sky blue, periwinkle, cobalt, royal blue, powder blue. They soothe, cheer, and intrigue me like no other color.
4. My favorite animal is a dolphin, though I’ve never touched one or seen one in person. Their personalities fascinate me, and they’re so beautiful.
5. My favorite trip ever was two weeks in England, back in September 2014. I went with one of my best friends. Part of that time was with a historical costume tour; we got to dress up in Regency and Titanic costumes (I made my Regency dress). Such fun!
6. I am a second-degree black belt in martial arts—my favorite sport.
7. I love teaching, though it always makes me really nervous (at least at first).
8. I’m the only one in my whole extended family who has true red hair.
9. Classical music is my favorite genre of music. One of my favorite pieces (perhaps my absolute) is Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.
10. I love Hebrew and can read it, though it can take me a while to understand it (especially non-Biblical Hebrew). The Bible’s most ancient language is incredible.
11. Whew. Almost done. Let’s see…one more fact…oh! Unlike quite a few writers I’ve talked to, I love the editing process. I also love proofreading for others.

Answer the eleven questions.

What is your favorite thing to blog about?
Classic books or authors I’ve just read.
Who is your favorite fictional character?
Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. I really identify with her, although she’s a lot more admirable than I am, with her strength, fortitude, and competency, among other qualities. Maybe someday I’ll be just like her.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
I don’t know—maybe when people talk badly of others.
If you could visit one place on earth, and only one, where would you choose?
Israel! I want to see the Promised Land, the land where my Lord walked and where God revealed Himself in the Scriptures.
What’s one movie coming out in 2016 you want to watch?
Hmm…let me go look up what’s coming out in 2016…okay, found one! The Jungle Book sounds interesting.
Would you rather time travel to the past or the future? Why?
The past. I would love to see what life was like in the past, preferably 1940s or earlier. And honestly, the future has always scared me a little.
What is your least favorite holiday?
Halloween.
What do you want to be when you “grow up”?
Well, another hard question to answer. I wanted to be an author/writer since I was oh, eleven or so, and I am, but I’d like to be more and more of one as the years go by. I want to be a wife and mother, too, and then there’s an editor, and I will always want to be some sort of teacher. Right now it’s a karate teacher. So the only thing I haven’t started “becoming” is a wife and mother.
If someone offered you a million dollar inheritance if you would drive twenty bucks (as in deer) across Alaska, would you do it? (I know it sounds weird, stems from a game of Balderdash.)
I probably couldn’t do it, but if there wasn’t any penalty for losing the bucks, I’d try. ;)
What genre of books do you like best to read?
Classics.
Do you prefer movies or TV shows?
Movies. I like their complete story arc, cinematography, and closure. Miniseries (like Pride and Prejudice and Cranford) fit the bill, too.

Guidelines:

・    Use the Infinity Dreams Award picture
・    Thank the blogger who tagged you
・    Tell us 11 facts about yourself
・    Answer the 11 questions
・    Tag 11 bloggers

Tagged Bloggers

Anyone who wants to! Post a link in the comments if you do. 

The Eleven Questions:

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to make up new questions or re-post the ones I answered, so I did a mixture of both. 

What is your favorite thing to blog about?
 
Who is your favorite fictional character?
 
What is your favorite color and why?
 
If you could visit one place on earth, and only one, where would you choose?
 
What’s one movie coming out in 2016 you want to watch?
 
Would you rather time travel to the past or the future? Why?
 
What’s a Bible verse that’s meant a lot to you lately?
 
What is your favorite classic book (written before say, 1920)?
 
What is your favorite place you’ve ever been?
 
What genre of books do you like best to read?
 
Do you prefer movies or TV shows?

Feel free to answer the questions in the comments, too, if you don’t have a blog or don’t want to post them. How many of the things I talked about can you identify with?

7-7-7 Challenge

On Facebook, I was tagged by my fellow author, E. Kaiser Writes, for the 7-7-7 challenge—7 sentences from page 7 of my current WIP. I’m also supposed to tag 7 other writers to do the same, so I tag Sarah Scheele, Sarah Holman, Rebekah Jones, Emily Ann Benedict, Deborah O’Carroll, Amanda Tero, and Kayla Rose. If you don’t want to take up the tag, you don’t have to, of course … but if it’d make it easier, you can put your sentences in the comments!


So, here is my excerpt from Suit and Suitability:

The world was a mass of white, punctuated by trees … the evergreens were a welcome breach, having shaken most of the snow off their branches, but the deciduous ones stood naked and shivering. Ellen knew how they felt … a shudder traveled through her as the wind pounded on their long, boxy DeSoto, demanding to be let in. The sky was dingy white with domineering clouds. No amount of snow bathed in heavenly light, softening the angles and curves of the landscape, and making one think of purity, hearths, Christmas, and childhood fun, would ever make Ellen appreciate winter.
Her winters had been intolerable since the Depression had begun, because, like every other expense, the Dashiells needed to curb their coal use. Cold-natured Ellen might as well have been living inside an icebox from late November to March as she bundled up at home, froze on her way to work with Dad (or, for the past two weeks, on the bus), and shivered even in the office.

Authorly Bucket List

Today I’m doing another fun blog tag, for which Deborah O’Carroll of The Road of a Writer tagged me. Thank you, Deborah! You get hold of the most entertaining tags! Click on this link to see what she put down and click here to see the original, created by Erin Kenobi.

So, the Authorly Bucket List. (“Otherwise known as the Stuff-I-Need-To-Practice-More-Slash-Stuff-I’d-Like-To-Be-Better-At Tag. Basically, the idea is to list a few things you’re not very good at, and a few things which you’d like to try. Three to seven of each should be a good number.” - Erin Kenobi) Time to challenge myself and get a little convicting here …

Things I’m Not Very Good At

Knowing what to leave out. I love a wealth of details in a story, but I admit, if overdone, they slow the story down and make it less exciting. Since I love detailed description and character studies, it’s hard for me to measure how much other readers enjoy and therefore … what I should leave out to improve the story for them.

Writing quickly. It takes me suuuuch a llllooonnnggg time to finish anything because 1) I don’t write very much in one sitting (an average of 500 words, perhaps); 2) words don’t rapidly flow out of me as I type (probably because I’m not concentrating well); 3) I don’t write every single day; 4) I’m a perfectionist; and 5) I ruminate a long time.

Suspense. I like a good action/suspense/thriller novel every so often, but it’s not really “me.” However, there is a type of suspense that doesn’t hang on the question, “Will they come out alive???” and I’d like to get better at that … making readers desperate to know what will happen next in the plot, i.e., what this girl will say to this guy tomorrow, or what this man will decide to do when confronted with this situation, or how these characters will change on the other end of their trip.

Dialogue. Hearing my characters speak. I want to make every word realistic, and every character’s dialogue ring true for their personalities, so they could be recognized even without a dialogue tag. 

Plots. I struggle sometimes coming up with exciting twists and turns that build a story, especially in the middle.

These are only the things I can think of now … but I know there are more areas I could improve in!

Things I’d Like To Try

A light fantasy that’s set in a non-magical, made-up country or world—I get to build the history and the cultures, but I don’t have to worry about making up new physical laws or anything like that. This would also include battles, sword fights, and martial arts fights … other things I want to try!

A straight mystery. I loved Nancy Drew stories growing up, and other detective mysteries are so enthralling as well … I’m not sure I’m smart enough to be a mystery writer, but it sure would be fun to attempt!

Travel writing. I love nature and scenery and the uncharted feels of new places … almost every place on this beautiful earth (or above it!) makes me feel something unique, and I love exploring how emotions and scenery and memories all weave together to make powerful, life-changing and life-enhancing impressions.

Children’s stories for and about homeschoolers. Growing up, I thought books with homeschooling protagonists were some of the best reads … I want to give that to homeschoolers of a new generation, so they know their lives and experiences are cool and worth reading about.

A story that takes place in Israel. I have an idea, but it would require travel and lots of research to do it to my satisfaction.

Historical fiction—in any and all settings! I’m interested in so many … I’ve worked in the Regency England world and the American Great Depression, but there are others that catch my eye: the late Middle Ages, the Dark Ages, the Victorian era, the Edwardian era, the Georgian era, the Reformation … *deep breath* I suppose I just need to take them one at a time. 

So, yes, this is my bucket list. Items may drop off it, and others might get added on, but for now these are the most important to me!

Consider yourself tagged if you’d like to do this! Or, if you prefer, answer the questions in the comments. I’d love to hear what’s on your authorly bucket list!

Favorite Screen Characters Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Deborah O’Carroll of the lovely blog Road of the Writer for the Favorite Screen Characters Tag. At first I thought, I can’t do this! I’ll never be able to decide. But it sounded like fun, and I wanted to get my readers involved, so here I am with a list. Thank you for tagging me, Deborah! The rules are to name your ten favorite characters from movies and TV shows. I agree with Deborah—it’s hard to limit it to ten, but I think this is a pretty good selection of who would be my favorite … I will have to say, however, that I restricted my Lord of the Rings characters to just two in order to keep them from overwhelming my list and so I could provide more variety. So as not to have to select one single picture, I did a Bing Images search for each character so you could see a “montage” of them.

Not in any particular order:

1. Eowyn – The Two Towers and Return of the King. Brave, devoted, steps up to fight yet still womanly. Images

2. Faramir – The Two Towers and Return of the King. He, too, is brave yet overlooked (by his father), leading his people’s troops though he does not enjoy fighting. Images

3. Cordell Walker – Walker, Texas Ranger. A Texas ranger who fights crime with a high sense of honor and justice and spectacular martial arts skills. Images

4. Tim Taylor – Home Improvement. I grew up watching his show, and he made me laugh. Fond memories. Images

5. Elinor Dashwood – Sense and Sensibility (as played by Emma Thompson). Elinor is my favorite book character as well … strong, sensible, kind, a heroine in the genteel world of Regency England. Images

6. Elizabeth Bennet – Pride and Prejudice (as played by Jennifer Ehle). She is bright, clever, honest, and true. Plus she lives in Regency England. Images

7. Hawkins – The Court Jester. My favorite Danny Kaye character. He’s an unlikely hero who’s brave, hilarious, and kind. Images

8. Wesley – The Princess Bride. Daring, handsome, brilliant, funny—plus the hero of one of my favorite movies. Images

9. Indiana Jones – Indiana Jones. On the surface supposedly a prim archaeology professor, but he gets into the most fascinating adventures. He’s resourceful and humorous and fights for the good. Images

10. Fa Mulan – Mulan. She reminds me of Eowyn. Out of love for her father she goes to fight instead of him (and learns spectacular martial arts skills) and saves China. Images

Looking at my choices, there is a bit of a theme—most of them are called upon to be extraordinarily brave—beyond their strength and what they think they are capable of.

Who are your favorite screen characters? Do you share my enthusiasm for any of the above people?