Erin Gets Her Swerve On!

Deep bow and namaste to you: Anne N. Kenney. (Here's a link to Anne's blog: http://writersquandary.blogspot.com/)  for wining our contest to pick Erin a new cup.  The cup design of a tiger was well selected.  Erin has been told that she has the totem animal of the large cat before and certainly loves the ferocity of such an image.  For that choice, we have honored our contestant with the prizes even though she did not have any competition.  :)


And on this note, the exercise of Erin's cup pattern was not random, pointless fun - though that in itself would be worthy activity for the over stressed writers out there.  Instead it was meant to represent the power of a totem or self image.  We are quick to list things that can help our writing get better and that's good, we should work on our skills.  But improving our own self esteem is certainly going to make all our endeavors more successful.  So go on a spirit quest through the mists of your own work - find out from your own work what animal just won't leave you alone or what place you can't escape.  Do you often write of the forest or the river?  Do you return again and again to the lion in your stories?  Do eagles fly near the sun or do fish spin in the bowl on the desk of your antagonist?  What can't your subconscious avoid creating over and over again?  If you find those repeating themes, maybe you've found your totem.

Now that Erin can get her swerve on, let us continue her story....   

***

"Bzdbldelbluk," Erin burbled in response to Laura's curse. 

"Hmm," Laura said, stalling while she thought of something to say.  "Well, a burble of nonsense is an improvement."  She tried to sound encouraging as she reached down and took the shoe from Erin's hand.  She placed it on the bed and then used her whole arms and chest to roll Erin onto her side and then stand her up on her feet.  Puffing from the effort, she said, "There... you are...  At least... you are standing... up now."

"Grglethrstbif" Erin managed.

"Here lets take a look at you in the mirror,"  Laura guided Erin's extremely top heavy body over to the full length mirror and  the two of them looked sadly into the reflection. "I'd like to pretend I've seen this before but...  I haven't. 

"And, my GOD, that pattern is just...  well, you need something better than  that.   Those little roses are... something my grandma would just adore.   So... I have an idea and I know it will work."  Laura faked confidence so Erin could calm down.  

Erin tried to nod her cup rim encouragingly back at Laura but it destabalized her so much she fell on her base again and Laura had to stand her back up.  "Careful now, Erin, it looks like you are very top heavy."  

"Rlllrutingrrro!" Erin growled.

"Right.  Moving along then.  Here's what you need to do.  Close your eyes.  You can close your eyes can't you? Ah, good, you can.  Okay, so, close your eyes and think back to what you were writing last night.  You might also ask yourself the following questions about your story:

• What has brought my main character to this place in her/his journey, this moment in her/his life?
• Whose life has she / he been living?
• Does my main character feel like things in his/her life are out of sink?  If so, how?"  

Laura stood next to Erin holding her hand for what seemed like a very long time. She did not dare walk away and risk Erin falling down again.  The room was so quiet that the sound of Scooby Doo playing from the family room TV seemed overly loud: 

"You know we got a mystery to solve
So Scooby Doo get ready for your act
Don't hold back
'Cause Scooby Doo when you come thru
You're gonna have your self a scooby snack
That's a fact"

Finally Erin squeezed Laura's hand. Laura said, "What you need to do is search for an element of power from your story.  Something, anything, that makes you feel safe.  And then when you find that, focus on it fully.  Every detail in perfect, precise clarity.  As though you had it right in front of you."

Again, they stood there in silence.  Laura shifted on her feed uncomfortably and worried Erin's legs had to be getting tired from holding up her heavy cup.

It took so long that the next program started downstairs.  Laura could here the song again:

"I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Each Pokemon to understand
The power that's inside"

Then ever so slowly Laura noticed Erin's cup was changing right in front of her eyes.  Where silly pink roses used to be, faded, barely visible imprints remained and giant blue eyes became visible.  The fading and the dawning of a new image continued until finally the roses were completely gone and Laura could see clearly what Erin had chosen.

 "Okay, Erin, you can open your eyes now."

All About Your WIP, or... Erin and Laura Are Nosy

Watching the Ass Over Teacup Twitter feed is a thing of beauty. And wonder. And utter madness. The tweets fly by without a prayer of reading them all. There are just SO. MANY. WRITERS.

And that's just a tiny cross-section. For every writer we follow, there have to be thousands that we don't or heck, don't even know what Twitter is. Which makes me so curious...

What do you people DO? I mean, what are you working on? What gets your muse all a-flutter? What are your goals? That's right, we're very curious about you.

Why? you might ask. Because it's part of our super cute, inquisitive nature.

Also, because we care. Because every writer wants to be asked from time to time, "Hey, how's it going?" and wants someone to want to know what they're up to.

That and we're just really freaking nosy.

I mean, come on. We've got a bajillion writers on the other end of this Twitter thingy and we don't even know what you're up to. We're dying of curiosity here!

So if you would, copy and paste these few questions into a comment and let us (and the rest of our readers) know what's happening.

1. Who's your audience?
2. What's your genre?
3. Who's your main character? Tell us a bit about him/her.
4. Are you writing in 1st or 3rd person? (No, 2nd is not an option). Past or present tense? (No, future is not an option.)
5. Do you have an agent? 
6. What stage are you in right now with your work? Writing/editing/querying/submission?
7. How's that going for you?
8. Anything else you'd like everyone to know about your WIP? 

Laura's Writing Meme

For shits and giggles, let's all do this, okay? Comment back or link us back to your own blog if you do it!


What’s the last thing you wrote?

I wrote about 600 words yesterday of PERFECT 10. Not exactly a record, but time was fleeting.

Was it any good?
I kind of love it. It’s probably one of those darlings I need to kill, but it’s a good discussion between Sam and his English teacher about his drive to write. Really hits home for me.

What’s the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
In a notebook somewhere in my parents’ house is a story about animals that I wrote probably in 4^th grade. It was totally a rip off of James Howe’s Bunnicula series, but I was really proud of it then. I still have poetry and short stories from high school as well.

Write poetry?
I’ve written one poem in the last 10 years. Seriously.

Angsty poetry?
I guess my one wasn’t very angsty, so no.

Favorite genre of writing?
Young adult. I feel it’s my home. To be more specific, romance and issue-driven YA.

Most fun character you ever wrote?
Probably Brad King from REFUGE. He had a wit, sass, and intelligence that were just the perfect storm. Travis from PERFRECT 10 ranks up there too. (And if we’re going to go with fanfiction answers, Brad from any of my Adam Lambert fics, Draco Malfoy, and a rocker named Noah Groban. *smiles*)

Most annoying character you ever wrote?
Annoying? Hmmn. Josh Turner, the bully from REFUGE, was a whole lot more than annoying, so he doesn’t count. I would almost say any of the women from my Compass Rose fantasy trilogy, save for Bilhah. As much as I love Veronica, she can be a real brat.

Best plot you’ve ever created?
My Compass Rose trilogy, definitely. I loved being able to build that universe and exorcise all my religious angst while weaving one of the most complicated plots I’ve ever dreamed up. (Call the Darkness Light wins for fanfic).

Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?
Well, I can’t tell you, that’d be cheating. But the end of the CR Trilogy ranks. I don’t particularly think I’m good at plot twists because I feel like everything I write can only end one way.

How often do you get writer’s block?
I don’t believe in writer’s block. I get stuck, not blocked, meaning that it's not that I CAN'T write, it's that I don't know what to write. But I can always write SOMETHING.

How do you fix it?
I spend time with the characters in my head and really listen. Sometimes, if it’s just an issue of not knowing what to write next, I plan and try to untangle my plot.

Write fan fiction?
Yup. See above.

Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
Yep. I think it’s my bread and butter.

Do you type or write by hand?
Type. I plan by writing by hand, though.

Do you save everything you write?
Fiction yes, blogs no.

Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?
Yes, but not often. It’s much more likely that I reuse an idea that didn’t quite fit something else. Or something I just thought was so great it would work again. (For example, Travis’ band in PERFECT 10 shares a name with Noah Groban’s band in a fanfic. It was just a cool name!)  

What’s your favorite thing that you’ve written?
The scene in FROM EAST TO WEST where Vincent is killed. The image of all of the magicians locked in the temple while the cardinal unleashes mustard gas on them is horrifying, and Vincent’s goodbye to Cain kills me, even now. When I finished writing it I just knew it would be something that would stick with the reader long after they read it.

What’s everyone else’s favorite thing that you’ve written?
Those that have read them would say my fanfics, That Good Night and Call the Darkness Light. (Or even Through the Night, from the old Grobanite fandom). But those who have read my original works would agree with my answer above, or say the dinner scene in REFUGE.

What’s your favorite setting for your characters?
Depends on the characters. My modern boys seem to love Athens, Ohio, a fun little college town. My fantasy characters tend to go for manors and sprawling estates. Some even prefer Heaven. *winks*

What’s one genre you have never written, and probably never will?
Horror. I don’t think anything I’m capable of could terrify or scare.

How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Just one. I abandoned pretty much everything to work on PERFECT 10. Sam’s too loud in my head anyways. He won’t let me write anything else.

Do you want to write for a living?
Absolutely.

Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?
Not since I was a child.

Have you ever won an award for your writing?
LOL, not unless you count Mrs. Cryder giving me the best story award in second grade!

Ever written something in script or play format?
No. I don’t think like that, and I can’t make myself.

What are your five favorite words?
Serendipitous. Sanguine. Languid. Possibility. Cacophony.

What character that you’ve written most resembles yourself?
Bilhah in FROM EAST TO WEST. I’d like to resemble Meg Oliver in PERFECT 10 more, but I can only admire from an envious distance.

Where do you get ideas for your other characters?
Real people, or people I’d like to meet.

Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Yeah. I wrote about a glittery vampire in a flower-filled meadow and… Oh, wait. No. That wasn’t me.

My dreams are not the best for writing, but right before I fall asleep is when I “write” the best.

Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers?
None of the above. I prefer satisfying endings, even if that means a sad one.

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
I’m more concerned with just trying to keep up with my characters. But spelling and grammar know-how kicks in while I run after them.

Does music help you write?
I don’t use music with words much when I write. I write a lot to silence or to white noise from an iPhone app I have. That said, all of the Compass Rose Trilogy and REFUGE were written to Henryk Gorecki’s 3^rd Symphony, the Dawn Upshaw recording.

Quote something you’ve written. The first thing to pop into your mind.
This is one of my favorite lines in PERFECT 10, and my main reason for including it here besides loving it is just that the scene will not survive the first round of edits:

My parents were scholars, both professors at the university in the center of town. Liberal in politics and atheist in belief. I, therefore, was liberal and atheist. But I’d heard about sin from a few of my Christian friends at school and my brain had quickly filed it away with other religious words like “karma” and “salvation” and “inner peace”, right under the broader category of “bullshit.”

Hey, Slow It Down...

We agreed to be honest with each other, didn't we, readers? No? Well, maybe not out loud or in some binding, written contract, but this whole blog is about overcoming all the negative that comes with writing and focusing on the positive, and to that end, I want to be honest with you.

The past couple of weeks I have been STRESSED. I am talking major anxiety. I actually told Erin last night that I feel like negativity is just following me around, like I'm Eeyore and I've got my own little personal storm cloud hovering above my head, everywhere I go. Which is both melodramatic and kind of psycho sounding, but it's really how I feel. I'm kind of a mess, a big ball of frantic worry and paranoia and frustration.

Why? A bunch of things. On the real life side, the choir and band I direct have a few end-of-the-year performances coming up. I have a lot to pay for on the horizon and I'm feeling the money crunch. My teaching schedule has doubled again and not only is it stressful planning more lessons, I'm with large groups of small children a lot more than normal, which is stressful in itself. My masters courses are about to start up again and I feel the work looming over me. 

On the writing side of life, I'm really struggling. I am writing a young adult novel that I personally think is my best work ever, but as much as I believe in it, it's hard to feel justified feeling that way. I'm going to say this honestly and hope I don't sound too whiny with it: It's really hard to feel enthusiastic about your work when you feel like you're the only one who IS enthusiastic about it. 

Don't get me wrong. I know everything I get back from my readers can't be glowing. I know they can't possibly reach my level of enthusiasm, even at their most glowing, because they didn't bring these characters to life. And I also know that most of the lack of enthusiasm isn't on purpose. A lot of the people I usually bounce ideas off of or read my work are really busy right now. It's not that they don't want to read it and spend time telling me that it's awesome, it's that they can't. I am a bona fide feedback whore, and a little encouragement goes a long way into keeping my momentum (and my morale) up, and without that crutch it's hard for me to push myself. (This subject is worth a whole slew of blogs by itself, and I'll do that, I promise.)

So... in essence, writing feels very lonely right now. Combine that with not having the time to write most days, and it's a recipe for a crap ton of stress.

So what can I do to alleviate some of this stress? Well, here are some things that have worked for me, and hopefully they might work for you too. 

1. Do something peaceful to calm yourself down and get some clarity. Take a walk in the woods. Sit still and watch a candle burn. Do a religious ritual. Take a bubble bath while listening to Enya. Do something only for yourself, even if you have other important things to do. Forget them for a half an hour and read indulge.
2. Make a list. To Do lists put things into perspective for me. If To Do lists stress you out even more, then make a list of things that you can do, and things that are out of control. Tear up or burn the list of things that are out of your control because THEY ARE OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. 
3. Get Busy. Nothing will relieve stress like putting some hard work in, and although any type of work will do you some good, if you work on those items on your list from #2, you'll kill two birds. Conquer the small things first, and use that positive energy to propel you into the harder stuff.
4. Let it go. All those things you can't change? Let them go. I know it's hard, but dwelling on it is a waste of time. My orchestra director used to say, "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." This is so true. Like I said up there, burn a list of these things, or write them down and then put the list away, symbolically putting all of them aside. Or call a friend and bitch about them until you can bitch no more, and then stop thinking about them. If these things don't work, meditate on them, visualize these problems becoming smaller and smaller until they're barely grains of sand in your consciousness.
5. Be your own counselor. Still stressed? Write yourself an encouraging note about something you've done. Leave helpful quotes on mirrors, refrigerator doors, and other places where you'll see them. Reward yourself for an accomplishment, no matter how small. Print out an example of your best writing to pull out and read every time you need to know you've done a good job.
6. Drop it like it's hot. If you're doing something you don't have to do, don't do it. Delegate. Say no when asked to take on other projects. Put off things that can be put off in lieu of more important, more time-sensitive things. And related closely to that...
7. Unfollow, unfollow, unfollow. Twitter teaches some great life lessons. The best one is that if there's someone on your feed that pisses you off, raises your blood pressure with their opposing viewpoint, or likes to start drama, YOU CAN UNFOLLOW THEM. Unless they're a real life friend, there's no point in keeping them around. And this goes for anything in the world. Unfollow those things that don't matter, yet keep you on edge. That TV show you have to see, so you rush to get everything done before 8pm? It's a source of stress, no matter how much you enjoy it. Stop watching it or Tivo that shit so you can see it when you have time. That blog you just HAVE to read every day? No you don't. It's just a blog. (Oops, did I just lose readers?) Don't read it. The post will still be there in a month, when you have time for it. The scrapbooking/jewelry making/latest novel for your book club that you ABSOLUTELY NEED TO DO RIGHT NOW? No you don't. You're a big girl now. The only person making you do these things is yourself. Don't make yourself do them anymore. 

The best part about all of this is that even if you're not enthusiastic now, fake it. Do some of these things and after a while you won't be faking. If nothing else, they totally get the ball rolling.

Phew. Well, I'm feeling better. How about you?

Elizabeth Littman - Who the heck is she?

Are any of you fantasy readers?  Yeah, I imagine you are.  :)

When I was a little girl I was a huge Anne McCaffrey fan.  Read everything she'd written, even the books with a small amount of that adult mojo that an 11 or 12 year old girl really isn't equipped to totally understand.  One of my favorite books was Dragonsinger.  It had all the right kinds of things.  Dragons.  An oppressed young woman who had a super talent that she wasn't allowed to use.  Dragons.  Mean teachers and peer pressure that resulted from that super talent.  Did I mention dragons?

Ever think that if you are going to be a social outcast then you better have a super talent of some kind for a root cause (or maybe for a bonus prize)?  I call it the Super Power Excuse: the cause of a hero feeling out of sync with the world.  If I could pick my life's theme I'd pick that one, complete with Superman soundtrack playing in the background (lately I've been wondering if I'm really Catwoman instead, but it works either way). So if indeed that could be the major theme of my life than I anxiously await the discovery of my super talent.

And while I wait I'm not idle with regards to my own skills.  I'm  working hard.  I figure if you don't have a clear super talent maybe you have to create one for yourself.  So working on my writing and my yoga seems to be the right things for this decade.

In the midst of all that, I found Elizabeth Littman hanging around on the web a bit. She's an illustrator of fantasy books and specifically she drew the covers of Drangonsong and Dragonsinger.  An artistic flash from my childhood! Ahhhhh, the super power of gifting enchantment, offering a fantasy universe in one picture.  That one is hers. 


Today, I got to speak to her on the phone.  She described to me her method.  At the beginning she reads the book she's illustrating.  Bless her for that!  And then she begins drawing.  She gets lost in her work.  Lost lost.  Gone.  She lives in it.  The kids, the bills, the house, the real world vanish and the fantasy world becomes all that there is.  The messes breed new messes, the children feed on Fruit Loops and Poptarts, the utilities get cut off, the pets eat each other but... the work gets done.  I guess this is what it means to be ass over teacup. 

Three months and perhaps 600 plus hours later she has her finished product made of water colors, pen and pencil.  A cover of enchantment!   Her magic is woven into the work of fantasy for each reader to enjoy over and over again.  

We parted from our call with such warm feelings. She gave me an enchanted gift many years ago.  I hope that I gave her a gift as well.  The gift of my wonderful memory of her work that has lasted for 30 years. I hope it inspires her to return to her art more fully now that her children are grown.  And I want to say to all who read here: may you also create a wonder of art that gets your readers lost and may it come from your own lost self.  Get lost and found over and over so that others can lose and find themselves.  Maybe our lives are ass over teacup, but at least we are alive! 

PS - Don't forget to enter the contest here http://assoverteacup.blogspot.com/2011/04/contest-time-erin-needs-new-cup-really.html.  :)  Find a new teacup pattern for Erin!

Contest Extension

We are extending our contest deadline by one week.  New Deadline:  April 29 at midnight.  Thanks so much.  Hope you feel inspired to enter! 

Contest Time! Erin Needs a New Cup Really Bad

Contest!

Win a free copy of:

Letters to a Young Poet by Rilke  [Fire]
On Writing by Stephen King [Earth]
Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul by Burkhardt   [Air]
And
Journey to the Heart by Melody Beatie [Water]

Four books - four elements - four ways to write.  Live the alchemy!

If you are interested in this collection of fabulous books just submit a link to a new china pattern for Erin with an explanation of why it will help her out of her dilemma to us in the comments section of this blog.  Make sure your email address is accessible so we can contact you if you win!  Also, winners will be selected based on your explanation more than the pattern you choose so make it a good one!  Contest starts today and concludes next Friday 4/22/11 - Good Friday - at midnight! Winner(s) will be announced May 2, 2011.

Good luck!  May you make Erin laugh her cup right into a better pattern!