Finding Magic and Myths in Scotland

Thistles and heather. Kilts. Castles. Ruins. Craggy mountains. Rain. Lots of rain. Sheep.

Magic. Mystery.

My trip to Scotland fulfilled a bucket list goal and it also fed my imagination for writing about this windswept, mystical place. It was a memorable trip indeed!

When I finally made a trip to Scotland in 2008 after reading books set there (Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, or Judy Garwood’s books, anyone?), I was not disappointed. Those books were just teasers. I was going to see the real thing. They don’t call me a Daydream Believer for nothing (although I was not a homecoming queen, but the Monkees got it pretty close). Kilted Highland lairds (and Jamie Frasier), castles, mountains, and enchanting romances…ah, yeah, I was hooked. And as luck would have it, I even married a man with Scottish ancestry, who – drum roll, please – wore a kilt for our wedding (round out with a bagpiper for entertainment). So, for our anniversary a few years later, it only seemed logical to set off on a fairy tale trip. My husband had studied in Scotland for a semester in college, so he brought a wealth of insider knowledge.

Oh, but did I mention that it rains in Scotland? A lot. Even though September is supposed to be a drier month, many of our supposedly breathtaking sights were shrouded in a gray cloud of heavy precipitation. Aside from our mishaps (which I'll elaborate upon in a moment), Scotland fulfilled my preconceived notions, with my own Scottish knight by my side to escort me through the perils of winding highland roads, haunting castle ruins, and dark alleyways to questionable hostels.

Lone sheep wandered down the middle of a meandering country road. Windswept moors, heather fields, and green rolling hills flanked our drives. Wild rocky trails and impressive mountains greeted us on our hikes. Blue lochs were aplenty (yes, Loch Ness is a deep beautiful loch and no, we didn’t see Nessie – but we did see the ghostly remains of Urquhart castle) on our two-week trip in this geological gem of a country. I think I gasped on the tarmac when I emerged from the plane in Glasgow.

My husband and I packed our itinerary because when we go tramping, we set the bar high and want to soak it all in! What can a couple do in less than two weeks? Well…

• Visit a dozen castles and palaces (Threave castle required a rowboat ride across an overflowed River Dee)

• Kayak on the astutely named Loch Awe to the ruins of Kilchurn Castle

• Hike through Highlands and mountains

• Watch a Highland game

• Partake in culinary delights such as haggis and fish and chips

• Carry on conversations with locals (about the upcoming American presidential election)

• Drive over sketchy bridges to reach Rua Reidh, a lighthouse hostel on the North Minch of Wester Ross (no, not the Westeros of Game of Thrones fame, but I can see the striking similarities)

• Expand our navigation skills on double-roundabouts (like a figure 8), one lane roads, and left-side driving

• Meander through abbey and church ruins

• Take a moment of reflection at the remains of Culloden battlefield

• Stay at the haunted (yes, there's a ghost) 14th century Borthwick Castle

Certainly there were lows (err, mishaps?)…blowing out a car tire on a rock, getting a manual car instead of an automatic, while driving on the opposite side of the road (it is the UK, after all) – oops!, castles closing before we got there, getting lost on city roads, plodding trough the deluging rain to find a hostel down a dark alley, and hiking a washed out trail through Glencoe, while hundreds of midges made a home in my hair…okay, those are a lot of mishaps for one vacation. Nonetheless, I left Scotland feeling rejuvenated and inspired and ready to take on the next big novel!

The setting in A Hundred Kisses (release date is this spring, stay tuned!) takes my hero and heroine on a journey across Skye (another soaker of a day on our trip – those majestic Cuillin, yeah, they were hidden by rain – thank goodness for internet research). But their journey begins at a signature castle, Eilean Donan, and remarkably, sunshine visited us that day. This castle is as resplendent and utterly romantic as all the pictures portray. We even managed a solo visit right before a tour bus arrived. We didn’t get out to the big islands to see standing stones, so as luck would have it, there’s a bit of that in my novel, too. I did say I have a good imagination (and love research), right? Our visit to Dryburgh Abbey inspired one of my “practice novels” (the manuscript currently sits on my desk for revision, awaiting resurrection as I contemplate throwing a ghost into that story). And magic? What thirteenth-century Scottish romance would be complete without that magical element entrenched in those standing stones and a culture rooted in superstitions (remember Nessie)?

So, how did we do on our Scotland adventure? Thistles and heather – check! Kilts, castles, ruins, craggy mountains, lots of rain, sheep – check!

Magic and mystery?

Checkmate.

Slioch (a view from a hike up Ben Eighe), a thistle, Eilean Donan Castle, and Glencoe.

Setting goals for yourself and your characters!

Goals. Resolutions. Projects. Aspirations.

Sometimes those words excite us. Sometimes they bewilder us. Sometimes they terrify us.

Relax…I’m not going to ask you to set another New Year’s Resolution. We’ve all learned about goal setting at some point in our life, either professionally or personally. Recently, a chat topic on The Wild Rose Press chat forum got me thinking about my yearly writing goals and also about my characters.

First off – writer goals. Well, we all have hopes for 2017. Perhaps it’s to finish that first manuscript, or to get our book out there into an agent or publisher’s hands. Or maybe we’re working on book promotion. Or to write two more books for an eager editor. Goals require carving out time for what’s important to us. Many of us follow the “SMART” principal: making our goals specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound. We want to be able to reach these goals, so sticking to the SMART rule of thumb is key to keeping ourselves motivated, accountable, and fulfilled. I know my goal list is lofty for 2017, so I sat down and looked at it to realistically contemplate what would be achievable this year. What are your goals? I suggest taking a few minutes to write them down by following the rule of “SMART”, and post them somewhere, checking in daily.

Now on to my second part of goal-making…our characters! One of my favorite  topics is goal, motivation, and conflict…the magical “GMC” that is the backbone to all fiction works. I’ve read many books on writing over the years (and I just got two more) and I will say Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation & Conflict has seen the most wear and tear, earmarks, and re-reads. Just like I can recite the lines of The Princess Bride back to anyone, I can reiterate what Ms. Dixon lays out in this book on the building blocks of fiction.

Here’s a simple overview of these three essential elements…

Every character (who) has a what (goal), a why (motivation), and why not (conflicts).

So for each character, big or small, in your story, you can write this expressive phrase:

            A character has a [goal] because they want [motivation] but this happens [conflict].

And never fear dear analytical chart makers! Oh yes, there is a chart method to create your internal and external GMCs for your characters. In her book, Dixon outlines several examples, using movies (as many of us can relate to movies, because just like books, movie characters have GMC!), such as The Wizard of Oz and Casablanca and even Star Wars.

So let’s go through another example from my favorite, The Princess Bride (using the William Goldman’s movie as the example)…

            As you wish…

A goal is urgent, and results in consequences if the character fails. A character has external and internal goals. Not all goals are achieved, and some may change.

Buttercup’s external goal is to be with Westley, her true love.

Motivation drives your characters and should be strong, focused, and guides all of your character’s actions and choices. Internal motivation creates emotion within the character. Characters can have varied internal motivations….guilt, family, redemption, protecting another, etc.

Why does Buttercup want to be with Westley? Well, because she loves Westley.

Why can’t she be with Westley?

Because she thinks he’s dead.  And several more reasons: Prince Humperdinck is forcing her to marry him. She is kidnapped. The Fire Swamp. Westley is captured and she barters for his life.

Therein lay our conflicts. And there are quite a few conflicts in The Princess Bride. Conflict is an obstacle standing in the way of the goal, but must be faced by the character. Conflicts test our character and strengthen our stories. Nobody wants to read an easy fix. We want to see the characters struggle and overcome! And as you can see, there are many conflicts in this story. Internal conflict is emotional conflict. Furthermore, Buttercup may outwardly appear a docile, simple farm girl. But she’s got gumption. She is stubborn and is not a passive bystander. She needs to make choices, which are ultimately driven by her motivation and goal.

Dig a little deeper and we can see her internal GMC.

What does Buttercup want? True love of course.

Why? Well, that’s a bit trickier. Don’t we all? Buttercup lives a simple life on her farm and rides her horse throughout the countryside. I would gamble that she wants to live the life of true love: on her farm, with her horse, and with her dear Westley. Happy ever after and all that jazz.

Why can’t she have this dream? Well, we already know that Humperdinck wants her as his wife (for his own political ploys) and that she thinks Westley is dead. But then she learns Westley is alive. Enter more conflict and see her motivation drive her. Also note that internal motivation can change or stay the same. Certainly, she wanted her happy ending with Westley but the prince threatens to kill him so she agrees to marry the prince so that Westley may live. She wavers between choosing life and choosing death. Conflict abounds.

So let’s break down her GMC chart according Dixon’s methods:

Buttercup (beautiful farm girl)

Okay, so working that GMC chart was a bit harder than I expected and there is some overlapping areas in her GMC, but you see where I am going here. Some character GMCs are more straightforward and easier to analyze. Take Inigo Montoya – that man’s motivation never wavers. He wants revenge for his father’s death and his goal is to kill the Count. His conflicts include having to kidnap Buttercup for some money, helping Westley save Buttercup, and of course getting to the Count to fulfill his goal.

I am sticking with my Buttercup example, because, well, death cannot stop true love…all it can do is delay it for a little while. And I am a true romantic at heart.

So on that note, get out there and create your goals as a writer. And don’t forget about your characters! Heck, I am sure you could even make a GMC for yourself as a writer…hmm, a daydreaming mom wants to publish her work (novels, short stories, children’s books, and magazine articles) because she has loved writing since she was a girl and wants to be successful, but life throws her some curveballs (busy children and schedules, agent rejection, illnesses, the need for sleep…). Will she achieve her goal? Stay tuned.

Breaking into the Business: Patience, Perseverance, and Putting in the Time

Have you ever sat at the pool or beach and watched children play? The adventurers jump right in and splash around. The builders play in the sand, meticulously constructing a castle. It gets demolished by a wave, but they start again. The cautious ones dip a toe in first and gradually work up to their waist. And the observers may never enter the water out of fear or the preference to sit back and soak in the rays.

Breaking into the business of publishing your written work can be the same way. We’re all unique as evidenced in our stories, methodologies, and approach to publishing. Are we bold explorers? Detailed engineers? Tentative investigators? Or do we sit back and wait?

We acquire many traits as we journey on the road to becoming a published author… thicker skin, the knack to function on minimal sleep when needed (parenting can do that, too!), coffee/tea/chocolate addictions, Facebook and internet procrastinating, the ability to write a scene in your mind while driving and carrying on a conversation with your child…the list goes on.

We also acquire the ability to swim and not sink.

This leads me to three essential skills every author should master: Patience, Perseverance, and Putting in the Time.

Patience

You will not publish overnight. You are not born a master. It takes time to become good at writing, like any other skill. Michael Phelps was not born with a gold medal in his hand. He worked at it. Never stop learning.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

It will take time. Yes, there are some quick success stories out there, but most authors have put a lot of time into their writing before it pays off.  I have logged almost two decades of time. Certainly not everyone’s road to publishing will take this long. Also, patience doesn’t end with the first “yes, we want to publish your book!” Patience in the process is a must. It takes a while. Be patient with yourself and the publishing world. It will happen if you keep at it!

Perseverance

The greatest have failed over and over again. Rejection is an essential part of the journey. It means you’re putting your neck out there. It means you get positive and negative critiques on your writing. It means you’re honing your skills. Stephen King used to hang his rejections on a nail on the wall as a reminder. What if J.K.Rowling had given up after the first or tenth rejection or because life’s hardships and unpredictability got to be too much? There would be no Harry Potter.

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

– J.K. Rowling

I wrote three full-length novels before my fourth one made it past the ax. Four was my lucky number.  What made that one different? I took the advice I learned from my rejections and critiques from the former three and applied it to the newest book. I crept out of my comfort zone and tried something different. I didn’t let doubts curtail my hopes.  

All the bestsellers have their rejection stories: Dr. Seuss, Agatha Christie, Margaret Mitchell, C.S. Lewis, to name just a few. So many. Imagine if they had given up?

Negative critiques from my beta readers on my first draft of my novels didn’t discourage me (certainly I may wallow a little in my coffee and eat a few too many donuts). One time a contest judge asked if English was my second language. Yup, true story. Ultimately it’s up to you as writer to take it all in, file it appropriately, and use it to improve your writing. Open minds are a prerequisite for this job.

“I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.”
—Roald Dahl

Don’t stop. Turn it to good. How can you apply what you’ve learned with that rejection, negative review, or setback?

Putting in the Time

Writing is not just writing and creating. I spend many hours researching, learning the craft, editing, networking, and studying my field (agents, publishers, trends, etc.). Soon, promoting will be added to that long list of tasks. When we begin the journey, we are eager to just write – to get it all down! But then come the edits, writer’s blocks, more research, more reading. So when you’ve gotten over the honeymoon period of writing, what’s next? Gather all the writing how-to resources you can (books, websites, conferences, mentors, writing groups, associations). Read up on submission. Study your market and agents/publishers. Read your genre. Make your submissions shine. Revise again and again. Nobody submits a first draft. 

“Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.”
—Larry L. King

Distractions abound. Howling cats, dirty dishes piled in the sink, demanding children, the limitlessness of the internet, finally cleaning out that junk drawer…oh wait, you want dinner, kids? Life obligations. We all have them. Distractions can be the biggest killer of our momentum. Keep at it. Carve out the time. Write in the nooks and crannies. Set aside a quiet space and time to write. Create while driving, in the shower, or on a nature walk. Had a great dream? Write it down. Carry an old-fashioned notebook around. Or type it on your phone. Email yourself.

"I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.”
—Ray Bradbury

Write what you know and love. It’s really a simple strategy. Write your dreams. It’s as simple as that. Draw from your own life or experience, or create a new world. I love Scotland and happy endings, so my first books were medieval romances. I have a son with autism who loves volcanoes, so my next book has both in it. I love to travel and enjoy the outdoors, so I’ve been writing magazine articles about some of those adventures. My aunt told me an interesting story that I turned into a short story (and it may become a novella).

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.”
—Virginia Woolf

Always have something in the queue. Diversify your approaches. In a slump with your novel? Search out some magazines. Write a short story. Enter contests. Join writers groups. Having cheerleaders (who will give you brutal honest feedback – no sugarcoating allowed!) by your side is a must.

You’ve got this!

You may be wondering – do I self-publish? Seek out an agent? Big press versus small press? It all depends on you, your story/genre, and your preference on how much guidance or independence you want. I didn’t want to self-publish. Okay, so I am stubborn! I tried agents for years. Years. Four books. Probably over a hundred rejections between them all (however, with each book, I got more requests to read partials or full manuscripts from agents or publishers – evidence that I was growing as a writer). I tried a few big house publishers. Ultimately, I decided to try a small press. I queried two of them. One loved it. That was my golden ticket. I have been extremely happy in the publication process with the small press. I’m still only 6 months into the process, but I highly recommend a small press that is driven to support its authors. Remember, what worked for me may not work for you.

It doesn’t matter how you approach the ocean...the world of publication. Do a belly flop. Step slowly, one toe at a time. Tread water for a little while. You know your heart and your writing. Set goals. Be patient. Persevere. Put in the time and eventually you will be swimming like an Olympian.  

“Long patience and application saturated with your heart’s blood—you will either write or you will not—and the only way to find out whether you will or not is to try.”
—Jim Tully

See you in the New Year! Keep on keeping on.

One of my favorite beaches - Abel Tasman, New Zealand. 

Goodness in Guatemala: “Ut’z Ipetik”

“Ut’z Ipetik”

(“all is good” in the Quiche language of Guatemala)

Recently I returned from a service trip to Guatemala through an organization called Salud Y Paz (which translates to “Health & Peace”), and I can’t not share about my experience there. Although this is my professional website, I am a believer that our lives mold our writing journey – the ups and downs, the places we visit, the people we meet, and the emotions that dance or rage.

Being in Guatemala is like a trip down the coffee aisle at the grocery store or to a coffee shop. It arouses all your senses (Hey! I just wrote about that…Smashing Pumpkins) and presents itself on many levels:

The sweet, nutty aroma; the bitter or rich dark roast; the visually stimulating colors of bags, cans, or cups; the sounds of grinding beans, dripping coffee-makers, or frothing of steamers; the smooth feel of beans or the coarse gritty grounds…

I could have chosen any analogy but coffee stood out (and not just because Guatemalan coffee is superb!) because I can taste, see, smell, touch, and hear it…much like I could experience all my senses while in Guatemala. There is no one way to experience this unique country, just like there is no one way to experience coffee (or tea) – to each their own. I asked each of the nine team members to use one or two words to describe their experience. We all chose a spectrum of descriptors:

 memorable * vibrancy * motion * painful * smiles* opening

heartwarming * humbling * happy *  friends * amazing

Although our team all shared in the physical journey, we each experienced our own personal journey. We took home diverse moments of goodness and pain. I will boldly go out on a limb and say that we all felt, saw, tasted, smelled, and heard hope’s presence in our team and in Guatemala.

Our trip took us from the speckled autumn of New England to the mountainous, rural, green highlands of central Guatemala (specifically Camanchaj, a Mayan village nestled in the Quiche state). Here resides a medical clinic and preschool (for ages 5-7) created by Salud Y Paz for the purpose of fostering health and education of the mind, body, and spirit. Our primary project involved painting classrooms and furniture, painting and tiling/repairing the kitchen, digging a driveway, and other construction work. Our Guatemalan hosts worked beside us and we shared in a week of friendship-building. We shared joyful moments with the children. We joined in fellowship with the staff.

We experienced Guatemala.

…the culture, the life, the landscape, and the heart of a gracious people filled with hope and goodness. It may be hard to say that what we saw was goodness, while we also saw poverty, pain, and hunger but goodness and hope were there. And we were only part of the picture. We didn’t bring the hope and goodness with us…it was already there. It was visible in people proud of their heritage, in their dignity to take responsibility for their family’s well-being, in families instilling hard-working values in their children…in smiling faces happy to see another sunrise.

I know what you may be thinking – travelling to a far off country is not in your stars. That’s okay. It doesn’t take a big trip to another country to do and see goodness and hope. We can look around in our community to find goodness and hope everywhere – food pantries, advocacy groups, service projects, after school programs, the needs of an elderly neighbor, community events, etc. (the list is endless). Perhaps my experience will encourage you to take your own journey into fostering goodness and hope, wherever it may be.

We took home not just the big picture but the beautiful, emotional, memorable details of this journey. I certainly came back "stirred up" with a new perspective. Every life experience is an opportunity – for personal growth, for sharing with others, for obtaining different perspective, and for education. 

Writing about it is just a side effect.

 

Next month: Breaking into the Business…Perseverance, Patience, and Putting in the Time.

Ut'z Ipetik: Finding Goodness in Guatemala

Smashing Pumpkins: Sensing your Surroundings

It’s October and we all know what that means. Pumpkins! Pumpkins are everywhere…pies, scented candles, lattes, elaborate house decorations, soups, and every baked good we can imagine! Smells, tastes, and sights of pumpkins (and autumn) abound! So what do pumpkins have to do with sensing your surroundings? Let me carve out an example:

Pumpkin seeds lay scattered across my front porch. The trail of seeds meanders across the front yard to the crime scene where a small orange pumpkin met its match with another pumpkin. A squirrel scurries up and snatches two seeds before I open the front door and shoo it away. I tiptoe around the stringy mess on my porch. More yellow innards hang from a browned phlox in my front flowerbed. I pick up the now smashed pumpkin, its exposed flesh smelling of squash. Stringy slime falls to the ground in a heap. Two giggles emerge from behind the house and I mumble under my breath. As I look for the culprits with a mounting ire, dark red maple leaves blow past me. At least these pumpkins made it two days this time.

Okay, so that scene didn’t send your nostrils tingling with the sweet aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg (the kind of smells I prefer to associate with pumpkins!), but it did set the scene, right? I got to talk about pumpkins and used my children as the antagonists, so that made me happy (as I sip my pumpkin chai latte and my children snore away in their beds). Imagery and scenery do more than just “paint a pretty picture” though, right? They set the mood and advance the plot, connect you with a character, and evoke images and arouse all the senses to bring the reader into the book’s world.

Have you ever read a book that pulled you into a new world, a book whose imagery captivated you? There are many reasons we get lost in the pages (or in the poetic voice of a narrator of an audio book, which is my preference lately with a busy driving schedule). We love the protagonists, regardless of their flaws, and cheer for their happiness. I know I do (it’s why I like romance so much)! We despise the antagonists and hope for their demise (or redemption). Unique dialogue, themes, and plot lines pull us in. But the setting really sketches the book before us. I am a nature girl, so I love books with vivid settings, ones you can smell, feel, hear, taste, and see. Fiction or non-fiction, it does not matter. Even if your book takes place in a bubble or black void, surroundings set the scene. Readers want to get lost in a different place, as fleeting as it may be. I just recently finished reading The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, a story rich with glowing scenery. The scenery was charismatic…and at points luring me in more than the plot line. She hits the mark with imagery and sense of place and she does it in a way that is not just “painting a pretty picture of landscapes”.  

As I approach each scene, in addition to my checklist of what and how something needs to happen (and my GMC chart of goals, motivation, conflict – more of that to come in another blog post), I make sure that setting the scene is a key part. Whether it takes place on a ship traveling across the ocean, in a 900 square-foot office in a tall skyscraper, on a mystical red planet, in a 6 x 6 damp dark prison cell, or on a camping trip in the backwoods of West Virginia, setting is important.

It is not always the physical description that captures us.  It’s how you show it. Setting affects characters differently and their unique point of view is one way to set the scene. In my pumpkin scene above, the point of the view is the mother, who is probably exhausted by her creative, energetic, messy children. But what if that scene was written from the viewpoint of the children? Or from the viewpoint of the reclusive, crabby old neighbor? Or from Grandma’s view, who just pulled into the driveway from a long drive to come visit with her favorite grandchildren? Same scene, different viewpoints.

Not all imagery is about pretty flower meadows or vast prairie landscapes. Feeling stuck on writing imagery and scenery? Below are my suggestions.

1.      Try simple, but specific descriptions. Be as detailed as you want, but fewer words can get the point across just fine.

2.      Invoke the senses: sight, smell, taste, feel, sound.

3.      Change up the POV – which character do you want to experience it?

4.      No need for up front information dumps; thread the imagery throughout the story. Scenery crops up everywhere in your story – from stretches of narrative to dialogue to intense action scenes.

5.      Remember that imagery sets the mood.

6.      Scenery is part of the plot, not just a backdrop; it actually works to enhance the plot.

7.      Use that metaphor if you find it fits; just don’t overdo it. Personification is also great!

8.      Have fun with it. It’s your creation! If you love the word resplendent (yes, that’s my favorite word), then go ahead and use it to describe that resplendent meadow of lilac and pink lupine as the morning sun reflects off the dew.

So there you have it. Go ahead…set a scene! And if you do feel the need to actually smash a pumpkin to appreciate the full experience, please just don’t do it in my front yard!