Robin Layne's Blog: From the Red, Read Robin, page 2
September 26, 2017
Why Vampires? In Defense of a Dark Symbol
I wrote the following article for “Robin’s Nest,” my web domain of “Den of Insanity” (later called “Artisan’s Republic”) many years ago. I have made just a few changes to update the progress of the manuscripts in progress. Today the issue it discusses is more pertinent than ever. Picture, if you will, a mob of villagers armed with torches and pitchforks, chasing a “monster” down in the dark of the night. The monster? A writer of fiction.
The writer takes a stand in front of the old, creaking windmill. This is what she says—or tries to, before they cast her down from her pedestal and burn her to death:
Some of my Christian friends don't seem to understand what I am doing in writing my AVS fiction series. It's true we say people don't understand us if they disagree with us, but most of the people who disapprove of my writing about vampires haven't even heard me explain my story and its purpose, much less read a word of it. All they have to do is hear the word “vampire,” and they think I'm doing something terrible. One of them went so far as to inform me, “Don't you know God doesn't want you to write about vampires?” It's interesting that she knows better than I do what God wants me to do, especially when I have been working on this story for years.
Why do I care what people think? These people are my brothers and sisters in the faith. I need their prayers and encouragement over a work whose main idea, I believe, was inspired by the Lord himself. It's hard enough that this is a crossover novel that may be hard to place with a publisher. I need all the moral support I can get. And I love talking about my writing because, second to God Himself, it is my greatest passion.
It has been hard having my various subject matters rejected by fellow Christians over the years, anyway. Fantasy? No, it has to be realistic. Romance? That's naughty. Do any characters cuss? Do any characters have sex? Even think or talk about sex? Then forget it! Some people—not all—are quick to condemn everything they possibly can. They seem to think it is their ministry to discourage people like me.
My AVS series has a few scattered cuss words in the mouths of my characters. Shocked? I cuss myself sometimes, mostly when I'm really angry. God hasn't hit me with a lightning bolt yet. I know that doesn't prove He approves, but I just don't feel it's such a terrible sin to let each character talk in the way that is natural for him or her. I think it would bring more attention to cussing if I censored them each time by always saying “she cursed.” There is a meaning to their words; it's not just cussing for no reason. They are not the kinds of people who cuss all the time so that their words lose meaning. These characters do not start as Christians, but the stories do have a Christian message. When a few of my characters get involved sexually, it is not on camera, as it were. By letting them do that, I am also letting them be themselves, not condoning their activities but instead showing some possible consequences. What is wrong with presenting human beings realistically? Because of the existence of vampires in my stories, they are a type of fantasy, but when I write fantasy, I work all the harder to keep all mundane details as mundane as possible, to create the illusion that such an event could really happen and to express the realities of human life.
What is it that bothers many Christians about vampires? I'm not entirely sure. For one thing, I think these people make assumptions. Does my writing glorify evil? No. The Bible speaks of evil, including Satan himself. It doesn't condone evil but instructs in fighting against it. I'm doing the same thing, and in a similar way—through the lives of imperfect people who struggle with difficult issues. Am I claiming vampires are real? No. There are real people who drink blood but not who grow fangs like dogs and live on blood indefinitely. And there are still some people today who believe the undead exist (like Montegue Summers, who wrote books about vampires), but by writing fiction that uses some of these ideas I am not proclaiming my own belief in vampires any more than Tolkien claimed he believed in the reality of elves. My Christian friends may assume that I am trying to copy Anne Rice or some other vampire writer. I couldn't even if I wanted to. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't think it was a fresh approach for a worthy cause. Least of all, I'm not copying any vampire movies.
Disclaimer: It is possible to dwell upon evil too much, and I have sometimes done so while writing about my vampires. It harmed my mental, spiritual, and even physical health. I learned from that and sought out greater balance in my life. But you can't write a story about the battle between good and evil without some evil in it. And what subject is more worthy than good verses evil?
I didn't think of vampires as a subject for some of my writing until a certain dream suggested a particular story—the one that started it all. But the more I've thought about it, and the more I've researched the subject, I've found many good reasons to write about vampires. This being represents a lot of things that touch us at a deep level, and it can be used to teach us a good deal about life, death, and ourselves.
In Bram Stoker's Dracula, the Count said, “The blood is the life.” This quote comes from the Bible. God required the Israelites to drain the blood out of all their meat and give it to him as an offering. He did not want them to partake of the blood of animals. This prohibition shows the vampire as particularly evil in a tragic way; he is driven to break this law and cannot find sustenance any other way.
Jesus said, “He who has the son has life; he who has not the son has not life.” What was he referring to? He spoke of people who did not believe in him as being “dead in their sins.” He said that to enter the kingdom of God, one had to be “born again,” or “born from above.” If, as he said, the road to life is narrow and the road to destruction wide, most of the human race is spiritually dead. That is not an idea that most people choose to believe. Why, then, are undead creatures such a popular fiction, and why do many act as if vampires are real? Could it be related to some innate sense of not being fully alive?
Traditionally, the vampire is undead. He is a corpse animated either by some altered form of the original soul or by a demon. This is a gruesome counterfeit of the Resurrection. Christ is the first example of what the resurrected righteous will be like in the end. Most people today are probably not aware that God promises a physical existence beyond the grave. But I think we all have a craving for immortality. In a world devoid of belief in an end-time Resurrection, the lure of immortality attracts people to the vampire. Why not let them learn that it is those who are born again spiritually, not those fictional beings who are re-animated supernaturally, who will live forever?
The vampire represents a neediness that takes and never gives. He is appetite run amok... guilt, addiction of any kind, seduction, rape, violence, and murder. He is the bitterness that lingers in the victims of such crimes and urges them to be too much like their abusers. He is the darker side of all of us, something so bad that we sometimes cannot face him except in nightmare or horror story. In the largest application of the idea, vampirism is sin. In a sense, we are all vampires.
If God doesn't want anyone to write about sin, then why did he inspire the Bible?
If all I wrote about was the dark side, from its own point of view, there would be reason to question it. Yet even the noted Christian writer C.S. Lewis' famous novel The Screwtape Letters used a demon's point of view to cleverly communicate Christian truths. My book doesn't even dwell on the darkness as much as his does. Question if you will, but don't come to conclusions based on nothing but the word “vampire.” That would be as shallow as a vampire who shies away from a cross without any knowledge of what the Cross means.
For you readers of “Den of Insanity, Robin's Nest,” I write this. For my Christian friends, I have fallen into a more comfortable tactic. Now if they ask what my story is about, I tell them it's about a teenager who has prophetic dreams. I get glowing encouragement for that. And really, Mary Lodge needs more attention than her enemy, anyway. A commentator on the “Blade” series complained that in other vampire stories the vampire is the most interesting character but always ends up with a stake in the heart. I want my main character to be at least as interesting as her nemesis. People do like Carletta already. Whether she ends up with a stake in her heart is more than I will reveal here. The novels will also reveal more spiritual truths than I have in this article. Hope you will read the books when they’re finished and published! And if these books are not your cup of tea... at least pray for the many people who will develop a relationship with the living God through them. The world is a large and varied place, and God is much bigger. There is no room for fighting against those who serve Him in a little different way from you.
The writer takes a stand in front of the old, creaking windmill. This is what she says—or tries to, before they cast her down from her pedestal and burn her to death:
Some of my Christian friends don't seem to understand what I am doing in writing my AVS fiction series. It's true we say people don't understand us if they disagree with us, but most of the people who disapprove of my writing about vampires haven't even heard me explain my story and its purpose, much less read a word of it. All they have to do is hear the word “vampire,” and they think I'm doing something terrible. One of them went so far as to inform me, “Don't you know God doesn't want you to write about vampires?” It's interesting that she knows better than I do what God wants me to do, especially when I have been working on this story for years.
Why do I care what people think? These people are my brothers and sisters in the faith. I need their prayers and encouragement over a work whose main idea, I believe, was inspired by the Lord himself. It's hard enough that this is a crossover novel that may be hard to place with a publisher. I need all the moral support I can get. And I love talking about my writing because, second to God Himself, it is my greatest passion.
It has been hard having my various subject matters rejected by fellow Christians over the years, anyway. Fantasy? No, it has to be realistic. Romance? That's naughty. Do any characters cuss? Do any characters have sex? Even think or talk about sex? Then forget it! Some people—not all—are quick to condemn everything they possibly can. They seem to think it is their ministry to discourage people like me.
My AVS series has a few scattered cuss words in the mouths of my characters. Shocked? I cuss myself sometimes, mostly when I'm really angry. God hasn't hit me with a lightning bolt yet. I know that doesn't prove He approves, but I just don't feel it's such a terrible sin to let each character talk in the way that is natural for him or her. I think it would bring more attention to cussing if I censored them each time by always saying “she cursed.” There is a meaning to their words; it's not just cussing for no reason. They are not the kinds of people who cuss all the time so that their words lose meaning. These characters do not start as Christians, but the stories do have a Christian message. When a few of my characters get involved sexually, it is not on camera, as it were. By letting them do that, I am also letting them be themselves, not condoning their activities but instead showing some possible consequences. What is wrong with presenting human beings realistically? Because of the existence of vampires in my stories, they are a type of fantasy, but when I write fantasy, I work all the harder to keep all mundane details as mundane as possible, to create the illusion that such an event could really happen and to express the realities of human life.
What is it that bothers many Christians about vampires? I'm not entirely sure. For one thing, I think these people make assumptions. Does my writing glorify evil? No. The Bible speaks of evil, including Satan himself. It doesn't condone evil but instructs in fighting against it. I'm doing the same thing, and in a similar way—through the lives of imperfect people who struggle with difficult issues. Am I claiming vampires are real? No. There are real people who drink blood but not who grow fangs like dogs and live on blood indefinitely. And there are still some people today who believe the undead exist (like Montegue Summers, who wrote books about vampires), but by writing fiction that uses some of these ideas I am not proclaiming my own belief in vampires any more than Tolkien claimed he believed in the reality of elves. My Christian friends may assume that I am trying to copy Anne Rice or some other vampire writer. I couldn't even if I wanted to. I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't think it was a fresh approach for a worthy cause. Least of all, I'm not copying any vampire movies.
Disclaimer: It is possible to dwell upon evil too much, and I have sometimes done so while writing about my vampires. It harmed my mental, spiritual, and even physical health. I learned from that and sought out greater balance in my life. But you can't write a story about the battle between good and evil without some evil in it. And what subject is more worthy than good verses evil?
I didn't think of vampires as a subject for some of my writing until a certain dream suggested a particular story—the one that started it all. But the more I've thought about it, and the more I've researched the subject, I've found many good reasons to write about vampires. This being represents a lot of things that touch us at a deep level, and it can be used to teach us a good deal about life, death, and ourselves.
In Bram Stoker's Dracula, the Count said, “The blood is the life.” This quote comes from the Bible. God required the Israelites to drain the blood out of all their meat and give it to him as an offering. He did not want them to partake of the blood of animals. This prohibition shows the vampire as particularly evil in a tragic way; he is driven to break this law and cannot find sustenance any other way.
Jesus said, “He who has the son has life; he who has not the son has not life.” What was he referring to? He spoke of people who did not believe in him as being “dead in their sins.” He said that to enter the kingdom of God, one had to be “born again,” or “born from above.” If, as he said, the road to life is narrow and the road to destruction wide, most of the human race is spiritually dead. That is not an idea that most people choose to believe. Why, then, are undead creatures such a popular fiction, and why do many act as if vampires are real? Could it be related to some innate sense of not being fully alive?
Traditionally, the vampire is undead. He is a corpse animated either by some altered form of the original soul or by a demon. This is a gruesome counterfeit of the Resurrection. Christ is the first example of what the resurrected righteous will be like in the end. Most people today are probably not aware that God promises a physical existence beyond the grave. But I think we all have a craving for immortality. In a world devoid of belief in an end-time Resurrection, the lure of immortality attracts people to the vampire. Why not let them learn that it is those who are born again spiritually, not those fictional beings who are re-animated supernaturally, who will live forever?
The vampire represents a neediness that takes and never gives. He is appetite run amok... guilt, addiction of any kind, seduction, rape, violence, and murder. He is the bitterness that lingers in the victims of such crimes and urges them to be too much like their abusers. He is the darker side of all of us, something so bad that we sometimes cannot face him except in nightmare or horror story. In the largest application of the idea, vampirism is sin. In a sense, we are all vampires.
If God doesn't want anyone to write about sin, then why did he inspire the Bible?
If all I wrote about was the dark side, from its own point of view, there would be reason to question it. Yet even the noted Christian writer C.S. Lewis' famous novel The Screwtape Letters used a demon's point of view to cleverly communicate Christian truths. My book doesn't even dwell on the darkness as much as his does. Question if you will, but don't come to conclusions based on nothing but the word “vampire.” That would be as shallow as a vampire who shies away from a cross without any knowledge of what the Cross means.
For you readers of “Den of Insanity, Robin's Nest,” I write this. For my Christian friends, I have fallen into a more comfortable tactic. Now if they ask what my story is about, I tell them it's about a teenager who has prophetic dreams. I get glowing encouragement for that. And really, Mary Lodge needs more attention than her enemy, anyway. A commentator on the “Blade” series complained that in other vampire stories the vampire is the most interesting character but always ends up with a stake in the heart. I want my main character to be at least as interesting as her nemesis. People do like Carletta already. Whether she ends up with a stake in her heart is more than I will reveal here. The novels will also reveal more spiritual truths than I have in this article. Hope you will read the books when they’re finished and published! And if these books are not your cup of tea... at least pray for the many people who will develop a relationship with the living God through them. The world is a large and varied place, and God is much bigger. There is no room for fighting against those who serve Him in a little different way from you.
January 15, 2017
Been SOOO Busy...
Hi, I have an apology to make. I've been sooo busy with writing, publishing, trying to publish, and editing, that I haven't had time to write here. I suppose I could have made time, but I strangely hold sacred the late hours of night, when I relax with Facebook, playing games and talking to people, sometimes reading other people's posts, and sometimes posting and commenting myself. Do you think that's lame? Maybe. But I seem to need downtime. You know what they say about all work and no play.
Anyway, I just submitted some poems to "Rattle" magazine and website, and I gave my Goodreads address as a contact point, because my website needs work, isn't what I'd like it to be, and is a big pain to correct and update. Why? Long story I may get into another time. But I haven't made that site much of a priority. I had no paid freelance editing business in 2016, but I have been busy editing another book with Barking Rain Press. As of yesterday, I completed my part in the copyedit. Whew! What an accomplishment!
The past year saw many new, exciting activities and progress. Some of them came about because I'd been part of a critique group that met in a local library, which went over my vampire novel chapters 1 or 2 at a time and looked at other stuff, too, like my first sonnet (Shakespearean style; it was hard to take in the rules, but once I got that down, the structure helped me compose). A lady named Minnie showed up one time and not only continued coming but got me interested in another group, The Portland Writers' Mill, which has about 20 people attending each time and keeps me busy with monthly contests and annual anthologies. I helped edit The Portland Writers' Mill Journal Volume 5, 2016, and contributed far more writing than I've ever published in one place before: 17 poems, 7 fiction short stories, and 12 pictures, including photographs, drawings, and paintings. The book was broken up into categories, mostly based on the subjects of the monthly contests. Being a newcomer, I only had a few contest entries, but I also submitted material I'd written earlier. The book is available on Amazon, which is also a first for me. It's $7.95, and proceeds go to the Cedar Mill Main Library in Portland, Oregon, where we meet.
As if that weren't enough, we published a second book right on the heels of the first: a thin volume of animal stories called Zeus and Bo and Fred and Jo and Co. This kid-friendly book features fan fiction about Sheila Deeth's animal and human characters from her "Tails of Mystery" series, plus other animal stories and poems. My contribution is "A Dog's Eye View," which tells about life in my family when I was still living with my parents, from the point of view of my beloved Mitsie, the only dog I ever owned. It's $5.95 or less.
I've placed in the monthly contests three times so far: 2 3rd places for the essay, "Home Was Where They Never Let Me In" and the fiction snippet, "As in Identical" (which you can read here: https://madmimi.com/p/b0c6d8 (it's the last story under "Showcase: Prompt Contest Winners"); and 1st place for the flash fiction story, "The Duprass" (named for a term coined in Kurt Vonnegut's book, "Cat's Cradle"). Winners are chosen by popular vote, ranked by each member after we read them on the website and comment on them as we feel moved. The group also has guest speakers and usually a critique, and a snack break, all packed into the hours 1-3 on the third Sunday of each month. I don't know how we manage to do so much every time. Must be a touch of magic!
I also had an article accepted by "The War Cry" magazine of the Salvation Army. It's a story about my adventures as a bell ringer, especially the winter of 2015. I was paid very handsomely. Also the same month, July, received decent pay for a story I provided for the "Miracles of Kindness" iPad book--now also available on Kindle and Nook, I just found out!-- http://www.sangamonhouse.com/. (My contribution is "Kindness from the Christian Writers' Group" in the section, "The Congregation Sings.") I expected to see my War Cry article in the 2016 Christmas issue, but, alas, it did not appear! And my inquiries about it have met quiet dead ends. I don't know how to find out what happened or will happen.
I'm happy to see that my career as a WRITER is taking off, although still frustrated that I haven't managed to put much work into, or get much help with, my vampire novel series. It's always been my dream to be a novelist. The critique group at the library stopped when the librarian who led it retired without prior notice. I kept the group going with Minnie and another friend from the Writers' Mill, but once a month critiques feel like they will take forever. I thought I would have to put in most of my time as an editor to survive financially. Although I am far from making a living wage from my freelance writing, I made more on writing than editing this year.
The same day I got the check from "The War Cry," I got an invitation to subscribe to "Poets and Writers" for only $9.95. I read most of my first issue of this semi-monthly magazine; with the second one, I got smart and read the classifieds first--the publishers with deadlines coming up--and that is how I discovered Rattle, which pays $100 per poem for its magazine, and $50 per poem for its website, and also has some other contests that pay great. And I'd been taught in college, "There's no money in poetry... but then, there's no poetry in money." I wrote a poem about money a while back, so I guess both parts of this saying are wrong! And that's good news for me, because I've written so many poems and continue to write more. Rattle likes a variety of subject matter and style, too. So do I.
My increased financial success began with a scary occasion: My rent went sky high at the beginning of 2016. I got desperate and got myself a job that was nothing like I or anyone else thought I'd find. Since May, I've worked most Saturdays in a posh theater, showing people private views of unreleased movie trailers and getting their opinions. It's fun. There hasn't been much work for me in December and early January, but it's okay, because the housing department changed its rules and my portion of the rent went WAY DOWN this year. Also, a cousin who likes my writing helped me out a lot financially. In addition to sending me some gift cards and lots of stamps, he also paid for a new computer when my laptop got a terminal problem. And I should be starting a second job soon, providing some meals and other household help for a young adult neighbor. I have been blessed in more ways than these. 2016 was a challenge, but a wonderful year for me ultimately, and 2017 looks great, too.
I'll probably think of more to say after I've posted this. But there's only so long you can sit in the same chair, and this is enough for now!
May you be blessed in every way, every day!
--The Red, Read, Robin
Anyway, I just submitted some poems to "Rattle" magazine and website, and I gave my Goodreads address as a contact point, because my website needs work, isn't what I'd like it to be, and is a big pain to correct and update. Why? Long story I may get into another time. But I haven't made that site much of a priority. I had no paid freelance editing business in 2016, but I have been busy editing another book with Barking Rain Press. As of yesterday, I completed my part in the copyedit. Whew! What an accomplishment!
The past year saw many new, exciting activities and progress. Some of them came about because I'd been part of a critique group that met in a local library, which went over my vampire novel chapters 1 or 2 at a time and looked at other stuff, too, like my first sonnet (Shakespearean style; it was hard to take in the rules, but once I got that down, the structure helped me compose). A lady named Minnie showed up one time and not only continued coming but got me interested in another group, The Portland Writers' Mill, which has about 20 people attending each time and keeps me busy with monthly contests and annual anthologies. I helped edit The Portland Writers' Mill Journal Volume 5, 2016, and contributed far more writing than I've ever published in one place before: 17 poems, 7 fiction short stories, and 12 pictures, including photographs, drawings, and paintings. The book was broken up into categories, mostly based on the subjects of the monthly contests. Being a newcomer, I only had a few contest entries, but I also submitted material I'd written earlier. The book is available on Amazon, which is also a first for me. It's $7.95, and proceeds go to the Cedar Mill Main Library in Portland, Oregon, where we meet.
As if that weren't enough, we published a second book right on the heels of the first: a thin volume of animal stories called Zeus and Bo and Fred and Jo and Co. This kid-friendly book features fan fiction about Sheila Deeth's animal and human characters from her "Tails of Mystery" series, plus other animal stories and poems. My contribution is "A Dog's Eye View," which tells about life in my family when I was still living with my parents, from the point of view of my beloved Mitsie, the only dog I ever owned. It's $5.95 or less.
I've placed in the monthly contests three times so far: 2 3rd places for the essay, "Home Was Where They Never Let Me In" and the fiction snippet, "As in Identical" (which you can read here: https://madmimi.com/p/b0c6d8 (it's the last story under "Showcase: Prompt Contest Winners"); and 1st place for the flash fiction story, "The Duprass" (named for a term coined in Kurt Vonnegut's book, "Cat's Cradle"). Winners are chosen by popular vote, ranked by each member after we read them on the website and comment on them as we feel moved. The group also has guest speakers and usually a critique, and a snack break, all packed into the hours 1-3 on the third Sunday of each month. I don't know how we manage to do so much every time. Must be a touch of magic!
I also had an article accepted by "The War Cry" magazine of the Salvation Army. It's a story about my adventures as a bell ringer, especially the winter of 2015. I was paid very handsomely. Also the same month, July, received decent pay for a story I provided for the "Miracles of Kindness" iPad book--now also available on Kindle and Nook, I just found out!-- http://www.sangamonhouse.com/. (My contribution is "Kindness from the Christian Writers' Group" in the section, "The Congregation Sings.") I expected to see my War Cry article in the 2016 Christmas issue, but, alas, it did not appear! And my inquiries about it have met quiet dead ends. I don't know how to find out what happened or will happen.
I'm happy to see that my career as a WRITER is taking off, although still frustrated that I haven't managed to put much work into, or get much help with, my vampire novel series. It's always been my dream to be a novelist. The critique group at the library stopped when the librarian who led it retired without prior notice. I kept the group going with Minnie and another friend from the Writers' Mill, but once a month critiques feel like they will take forever. I thought I would have to put in most of my time as an editor to survive financially. Although I am far from making a living wage from my freelance writing, I made more on writing than editing this year.
The same day I got the check from "The War Cry," I got an invitation to subscribe to "Poets and Writers" for only $9.95. I read most of my first issue of this semi-monthly magazine; with the second one, I got smart and read the classifieds first--the publishers with deadlines coming up--and that is how I discovered Rattle, which pays $100 per poem for its magazine, and $50 per poem for its website, and also has some other contests that pay great. And I'd been taught in college, "There's no money in poetry... but then, there's no poetry in money." I wrote a poem about money a while back, so I guess both parts of this saying are wrong! And that's good news for me, because I've written so many poems and continue to write more. Rattle likes a variety of subject matter and style, too. So do I.
My increased financial success began with a scary occasion: My rent went sky high at the beginning of 2016. I got desperate and got myself a job that was nothing like I or anyone else thought I'd find. Since May, I've worked most Saturdays in a posh theater, showing people private views of unreleased movie trailers and getting their opinions. It's fun. There hasn't been much work for me in December and early January, but it's okay, because the housing department changed its rules and my portion of the rent went WAY DOWN this year. Also, a cousin who likes my writing helped me out a lot financially. In addition to sending me some gift cards and lots of stamps, he also paid for a new computer when my laptop got a terminal problem. And I should be starting a second job soon, providing some meals and other household help for a young adult neighbor. I have been blessed in more ways than these. 2016 was a challenge, but a wonderful year for me ultimately, and 2017 looks great, too.
I'll probably think of more to say after I've posted this. But there's only so long you can sit in the same chair, and this is enough for now!
May you be blessed in every way, every day!
--The Red, Read, Robin
March 26, 2016
New Addition to my Vampire Interviews
In 2013, a friend on this site, Francis Franklin, started The Vampire Lover Blog Award--a chance for people to write the questions they were dying to ask vampires. Bloggers like me let their vampires out to respond to 11 questions of their (or the blogger's) choice. Because we were expected to include the nice graphic for the "award" with the blog posts, and Goodreads doesn't have an option for a separate pictures on blog posts, I started a second blog on Wordpress, Robin Layne, Author: Welcome to the AVS. I had five vampire characters answer the most appropriate 11 of the questions asked, including the one I submitted, in separate interviews that August. But some of my vamps could provide interesting answers to more than 11 of the questions, and, inspired by an interview Francis wrote, I decided to let two of these characters answer the rest of the questions in a descriptive scene instead of just quoting the questions and having the vamp simply answer each in written form. The setting for the dual interview is a Starbucks. I'm the uneasy interviewer, and the vampires, Luke and Carletta, don't like each other. In the interview posted on October 3, 2013, Luke helped interview the 16-year-old beauty Carletta--using psychic manipulation and bribery to get her to answer honestly questions she wanted to avoid. We left the post with the promise that Carletta would help interview Luke next. Now, after 2 years and over 5 months, the I have at last finished and posted Luke's second interview! And in the interim, guess what? Several MORE questions were posted to the Vampire Lover's Blog Award site. So Carletta had to answer those along with Luke.
Please consider all the time this literary meal has been on the loving backburner and go enjoy At Last--Luke Answers the Rest of the Questions!
I had a lot of fun writing it, and every project I do with my characters helps me know them better, adding to the depth of the books I've been working on since about 2000. It will be a whole series (AVS:The Anti-Vampirism Society). I'm thinking of 6 books at this point. Later, I'll post notes on what it's like to envision and put together a series of novels. I'm learning as I go along. It's harder than I thought it would be, and I'm taking longer than most writers seem to. But why boast about how LITTLE time it takes to write books, when life increases the meaning and skill that go into them?
I think you'll enjoy the whole blog, if you haven't read the other parts yet.
Please consider all the time this literary meal has been on the loving backburner and go enjoy At Last--Luke Answers the Rest of the Questions!
I had a lot of fun writing it, and every project I do with my characters helps me know them better, adding to the depth of the books I've been working on since about 2000. It will be a whole series (AVS:The Anti-Vampirism Society). I'm thinking of 6 books at this point. Later, I'll post notes on what it's like to envision and put together a series of novels. I'm learning as I go along. It's harder than I thought it would be, and I'm taking longer than most writers seem to. But why boast about how LITTLE time it takes to write books, when life increases the meaning and skill that go into them?
I think you'll enjoy the whole blog, if you haven't read the other parts yet.
October 30, 2015
No! I DID NOT write that book!
I may be a lady in red, but I do not write erotica. The book, "One of my Sordid Affairs" is not mine, although someone has put it on my page.
When I chose to used my first and middle name as my pseudonym, I didn't suspect that I would ever be pursued by an "evil twin" of the same name who tells sexual secrets true or false. I did find out there was a musician (a percussionist, to be exact) named Robin Layne who also showed up on a Google search, so I was careful to name my Wordpress blog "Robin Layne, Author," for clarity's sake. But yesterday I discovered someone has added a book to my profile page that I did not write.
I don't want this other writer's reputation, and I suspect she doesn't want mine. I don't choose to publish my own sordid affairs (which are all behind me), and I don't go into detail about the private details of my characters', either.
One good thing has come out of this event so far: When I looked up Robin Layne on Amazon, I found out that "A Medley of Fiction" is available there for purchase. That is an anthology I contributed a poem to "Eros at My Window." It is the single book that AuthorsByDesign.com created. I used to be active on that site in its heyday, back when it was among Writer's Digest's 100 best websites for writers. AbD, as we called it, awarded me three different awards (two for short horror stories, one for persistent posts in it's own NanoWriMo-like event). For a time, I was moderator of its "Grammar Grapplers" thread. Alas, even after an attempt to revamp and resurrect the site, it has died--leaving the book and a few scattered members and what they choose to do with their works as the only survivors. Who knows--the book might be worth some money someday. It is certainly worth a good read. I just didn't finish it due to other priorities, and so for now it is listed as a book I'm still reading. One of the stories that won an AbD contest (and a contest at an anime convention as well) is on my profile: "Blood Ties."
I have written to the moderators about the unwanted book on my page. I shall be thinking about an alternate pen name that will be unique and characterize me. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
There is more I want to say about other things, but I have no time right now. Blessings to all! And friends--send me a message now and then, okay?
When I chose to used my first and middle name as my pseudonym, I didn't suspect that I would ever be pursued by an "evil twin" of the same name who tells sexual secrets true or false. I did find out there was a musician (a percussionist, to be exact) named Robin Layne who also showed up on a Google search, so I was careful to name my Wordpress blog "Robin Layne, Author," for clarity's sake. But yesterday I discovered someone has added a book to my profile page that I did not write.
I don't want this other writer's reputation, and I suspect she doesn't want mine. I don't choose to publish my own sordid affairs (which are all behind me), and I don't go into detail about the private details of my characters', either.
One good thing has come out of this event so far: When I looked up Robin Layne on Amazon, I found out that "A Medley of Fiction" is available there for purchase. That is an anthology I contributed a poem to "Eros at My Window." It is the single book that AuthorsByDesign.com created. I used to be active on that site in its heyday, back when it was among Writer's Digest's 100 best websites for writers. AbD, as we called it, awarded me three different awards (two for short horror stories, one for persistent posts in it's own NanoWriMo-like event). For a time, I was moderator of its "Grammar Grapplers" thread. Alas, even after an attempt to revamp and resurrect the site, it has died--leaving the book and a few scattered members and what they choose to do with their works as the only survivors. Who knows--the book might be worth some money someday. It is certainly worth a good read. I just didn't finish it due to other priorities, and so for now it is listed as a book I'm still reading. One of the stories that won an AbD contest (and a contest at an anime convention as well) is on my profile: "Blood Ties."
I have written to the moderators about the unwanted book on my page. I shall be thinking about an alternate pen name that will be unique and characterize me. If you have any suggestions, let me know.
There is more I want to say about other things, but I have no time right now. Blessings to all! And friends--send me a message now and then, okay?
September 30, 2015
Never Again--at least this year--can you get such wonderful books at such prices
In my last post, I told you how excited I was to be editing Heather Starsong's "Never Again," a beautiful science fiction approach to the theme of the fountain of youth. The book is done, and you can get it for half off this month--and here it is the last of the month! I am so sorry to be let you know this late in time. Everything's been happening. Now I am still getting over being sick, but I'm doing this so you can take advantage of Barking Rain Press's 4th Anniversary Offer. (I tried to put a picture of the book on here, but I couldn't find it by title and the program doesn't allow me to use the ISBN.) You can get half off on any of Barking Rain Press's books when you use the code BRP4YEAR when ordering any version from their website or the electronic version anywhere.
Secondly, I want to tell you about another great book from Barking Rain that I had the privilege of working on--this time as a co-editor. It's called "The Stage," by Catherine Russell--a new twist on the vampire romance genre that has the capability to be a bestseller. And it's the first in a series. I'll tell you more here when I'm feeling better, but you can read recommendations on my website, writingthatsings.com and order them on BRP's site: for "Never Again," BarkingRainPress.org/NeverAgain
--and for "The Stage," BarkingRainPress.org/TheStage
Secondly, I want to tell you about another great book from Barking Rain that I had the privilege of working on--this time as a co-editor. It's called "The Stage," by Catherine Russell--a new twist on the vampire romance genre that has the capability to be a bestseller. And it's the first in a series. I'll tell you more here when I'm feeling better, but you can read recommendations on my website, writingthatsings.com and order them on BRP's site: for "Never Again," BarkingRainPress.org/NeverAgain
--and for "The Stage," BarkingRainPress.org/TheStage
April 28, 2015
Persectives on Youthful Beauty
When people learn I’m writing vampire fiction, many say, “Good for you, that’s a very popular subject right now.” And they’re right. Vampire books abound, you can take your pick of vampire shows and movies, rock artists sing about them, and the web abounds with them.
Why are people so interested in vampires today?
One reason is that the vampire holds time still, freezing youth in its place. The fountain of youth holds such an appeal that some people, fictional or real, will pay any price for it—even blood. Even their souls.
Read the rest on my other blog:
The Vampire's Lure of Youthful Beauty
The blog post introduced here was inspired by the blog of someone writing something quite different from my vampire series. I am very familiar with her soon-to-be released science fiction novel, "Never Again," because I have the wonderful fortune of being its editor.
While reading submissions soon after joining the staff of Barking Rain Press, I fell in love with Heather Starsong's manuscript. Written in poetic prose, her charming story of an 80-year-old woman transformed by compassionate extra-terrestrials. It made me cry, and still does. I told the publisher I wanted to represent it, so I have been working with Heather on every stage of the process. We are wrapping up the copyediting today. We await the cover art, and in July we bring in the fresh eyes of a proofreader to help us catch any last-minute mistakes.
The book is slated to come out this August. Here is the link to Heather's information about it:
HeatherStarsong.com/NeverAgain.
And here are her reflections about youthful beauty, which inspired my own post on my vampire series blog:
The Lure of Youthful Beauty
Beauty is Dangerous
Beauty is Power
Why are people so interested in vampires today?
One reason is that the vampire holds time still, freezing youth in its place. The fountain of youth holds such an appeal that some people, fictional or real, will pay any price for it—even blood. Even their souls.
Read the rest on my other blog:
The Vampire's Lure of Youthful Beauty
The blog post introduced here was inspired by the blog of someone writing something quite different from my vampire series. I am very familiar with her soon-to-be released science fiction novel, "Never Again," because I have the wonderful fortune of being its editor.
While reading submissions soon after joining the staff of Barking Rain Press, I fell in love with Heather Starsong's manuscript. Written in poetic prose, her charming story of an 80-year-old woman transformed by compassionate extra-terrestrials. It made me cry, and still does. I told the publisher I wanted to represent it, so I have been working with Heather on every stage of the process. We are wrapping up the copyediting today. We await the cover art, and in July we bring in the fresh eyes of a proofreader to help us catch any last-minute mistakes.
The book is slated to come out this August. Here is the link to Heather's information about it:
HeatherStarsong.com/NeverAgain.
And here are her reflections about youthful beauty, which inspired my own post on my vampire series blog:
The Lure of Youthful Beauty
Beauty is Dangerous
Beauty is Power
August 14, 2014
Third-Time Charm: Summary of a Writers Conference (Part 1)
Thursday
I was super privileged to attend the Willamette Writers Conference this year. It was my third such conference, and I think my last was in 2009. This year it was easier to reach because it was held at the Doubletree Inn by Portland’s Lloyds Center, right along the Max lightrail track.
The first event, Pitch for the Prize, was Thursday night of July 31, and I was so excited I couldn’t even pack a dinner—or do anything else. So I left as soon as I could and enjoyed a big steak salad at Denny’s along the way, where I flipped a quarter to help me decide which workshops to attend that were slated for the same time slots as others I wanted. My quarter would insist I take one workshop—then I would think I wanted the other.
Entering the hotel was pure pleasure. I looked for Willamette Writers nametags everywhere, seeking other crazy people driven to create via the written word and spread their creations throughout the known universe. It still amazes me how many of us there are, because outside such events, writing for publication can be a lonely venture. Most of my friends and family members aren’t writers. My mother didn’t encourage my passion, and although my father did, he insisted I would have to always sell shoes or something for a living. I still believe him, although I’m no good at selling shoes. Is that why I’m still poor?
I picked up my nametag and folder early, so I had plenty of time to look at the Barnes and Noble corner that featured books on writing and other titles, the silent auction area that was just being set up (it was hot in there at the time), and the information table to learn more about Pitch for the Prize and Manuscript ER. In the first event, writers chosen randomly to give a three-minute pitch of their manuscripts to a panel of editors and agents paid $5, got advice from the judges after their pitches, and the writer whose pitch was deemed best took home all the entry money. I didn’t have a manuscript ready to pitch, but after a while I wished I did. I learned a lot. I took notes, and I might write more later about my experience either here or in the Authors by Design blog. But first I will blog about conference details that are more applicable to what I am doing now. These posts are certain to interest other writers who are in the formulation and writing stages of their creations. They may also interest readers who want to understand what moves them and why, how stories work, and how writers make the kinds they most enjoy.
Friday
Friday, I missed the workshop waiting for Manuscript ER and then getting the advice of “ER operator” Cheri Lasota of Stirling Editing. I was told we would have 15 minutes together, but we must have had well over half an hour. She taught me what I need to do to convert my too-long novel into two separate stories, and revealed the importance of making my whole series have its own story arc. She gave me some tips on how to do that, and recommended I learn more from Larry Brooks, who was teaching three workshops at the conference. She referred me to a blog post by Susan Kaye Quinn to help me brainstorm the rest of my series. The link is www.susankayequinn.com/2013/12/brainstorming-book.html>. Lasota’s website is CheeriLasota.com/StirlingEditing/.
Waiting for Manuscript ER was no chore. While I did so, I began meeting interesting writers, some whom I would run into later throughout the conference. Like Brittany “Bri” Maresh from Alaska, who, when I told her I was writing a vampire series, said, “We love you!” and named me some books she said I must read (Demon in My View by Amelia Atwater Rhedes
, Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
, and Sunshine by Robin McKinley
).
I’m so glad my drive to finish what I was first inspired to write some fourteen years ago didn’t let me stop when some “experts” in publishing told me “Vampires are dead” (no pun intended?) I don’t chase trends. I write what God gives me to write and what speaks to me, what I hope will speak to others, whatever people might think of the subject matter. I don’t copy other’s work. I almost cringe when anyone responds to me by saying, “Oh yes, vampires are so in now,” or “Of course you write about vampires. Ever since Twilight…” FYI, I got the dream that started me writing my AVS stories before there was a Twilight, and when I started reading the thing and heard it was a bestseller, I was heartbroken and scared. Is this what the audience I’m aiming for likes? I thought. Drivel by a person who breaks every writing rule I was ever taught? Do I have to be compared and contrasted to this amateur? The only really good thing about those books, I thought, was the cover art, and that was only for the original hardbacks. I thought it might be death to my dream. But this Willamette Writers Conference included the videoed opinions of actual high school students, one who said she was sick of vampires because of Twilight. That quote mostly encouraged me; they are not looking for a duplicate. I just have to make my stories different and better. My vampires are not like Stephanie Meyers’s, and my stories are fresh.
From ER, I ran quickly down to the big, crowded room where Larry Brooks taught Story 101: The Three-Way Collision of Idea, Concept, and Premise. He also talked about theme but for some reason didn’t include it in his title. He challenged us to define “story.” One single word that epitomizes a story: Conflict. “Without plot,” he said, “the exploration of a character is a biography of a fictional character, not a story.”
Lunch followed. Having the deluxe admission, I got to hear a speaker with each lunch as well as meet more wonderful fellow writers. Friday’s speaker was Gayathri Ramprasad, who wrote Shadows in the Sun: Healing from Depression and Finding the Light Within
. I wish my camera was working, because Ramprasad was drop-dead gorgeous in her purple sari, all her jewelry, and her black hair piled high on her head. When she read that as a child she was "a princess," I could believe it. Later, mental illness and abuse drew her down into a deep chasm. But getting locked up set her free to learn they couldn’t lock up her spirit. She found love, acceptance, courage, and compassion among the mentally ill. Yet she discovered that they are misplaced and mistreated in prisons and asylums around the world. Overwhelmed, she was comforted by the words of Mother Teresa: “We can do no great things. We can do small things with great love.” (This saying also spoke to me on a special occasion, just two days after Mother Teresa went to Heaven.) Ramprasad formed ASHA International (www.myasha.org) to spread understanding about mental illness and to reduce stigma against this cluster of diseases that one out of four people experience sometime in life.
It was at one of these lunches I met Paula Blackwelder (from Florida), who is working on a documentary about a trapeze artist she knew while performing for the circus herself. I was to run into her several more times (who could miss her long, straight, black hair?), and hear more than one person encourage her to write her own story. If interested in her projects, check out Circus Nation TV Network at www.OnNowTV.com/232.
Next I attended Gordon Warnock’s workshop, An Agent Explains Author Platforms. I had high hopes for this one, but it was the one event that didn’t help me much. It seemed most helpful for non-fiction writers. Other than attending horror conventions, I couldn’t think what real organizations to get involved in to draw attention to my vampire books. I couldn’t even think of any questions to ask.
My next workshop more than made up for that. Laura Whitcomb, author of the YA love stories A Certain Slant of Light
, Under the Light
and The Fetch
, taught Magical Worlds and Real Romance. She said that you can make any world seem so real and down to earth it becomes like magic. She gave us several writing exercises (some which I will continue for some time to come), to help us establish the rules of our magical worlds and to inspire us to believe for the best and keep on writing until we achieve it.
Saturday
My first Saturday workshop was helpful, but I can’t do it justice without sharing a lot of pictures. The subject was Cover Design Secrets You Can Use to Sell More Books, by designer Derek Murphy. It would take me a long time to post a small portion of the covers he showed us, and here they would appear awfully small. His website, www.creativeindie.com will give you some good examples. Here are some highlights of his advice: It is the job of the cover to tell readers what’s in the book. A cover should not so much explain as attract. There are conventions for each genre that help readers find what they want—for instance, vampire books are black, red, and maybe white, sometimes with blood splatters on them. Spirituality is purple or blue. Covers for fiction should make an emotional connection, nonfiction more of a cognitive one. Consider how your cover should look when it’s really small as well as up close. Contrasting colors make a good cover “pop.” The cover should not be crowded but have lots of space. Murphy provided a number of web addresses for stock photography and text, but if you use stock pictures, be sure to change them enough that they don’t look like every other book using that art. If you want to know more from my notes of this workshop or my others, just comment below or message me. It will help me decide what to publish, and if I don’t post about the event you want more info on, I will send you the info personally.
I showed Murphy my sketch for the cover of my first AVS book. Like I thought when he was teaching, it’s too busy. I had Mary, my main character, looking into a dream catcher (because she has prophetic dreams) and behind the dream catcher my vampire girl luring her boyfriend away and the boy approaching her with interest. Murphy advised just featuring Mary behind the dream catcher with her distraught expression. I don’t know if I like that idea as much, but he said that the best cover often isn’t the author’s favorite. At least a front view would show her silver heart locket, which is an important to the story.
I then went to hear Larry Brooks again. In Story 202: Discovering Story Through Structure, he said a great story is about something happening in the pursuit of a resolution to something. A story has four parts: set up (introducing the hero); response (the situation grows darker, the stakes bigger, and the hero becomes a “wanderer”); attack (the hero becomes a “warrior” and has some effectiveness with the problem); and resolution (in which the hero must be a primary catalyst). The setup contains one or more inciting incidents—parts where the conflict becomes apparent. The most important part of the story is the first plot point, which happens between the first and second of the four sections; this event launches the hero’s journey and what he/she needs to do. Between the response and attack is a second plot point (there can be more), which makes the journey different or new. This midpoint a good place for revealing secrets. Between the attack and the resolution is sometimes a lull—a place of despondency for the main characters. If this leaves you scratching your head, please realize I’m giving a quick outline and I’m just learning this stuff. It helps to note examples and figure out how the model fits your own work or those of others who have succeeded before you. Brooks gave many examples from movies and books.
The man gave out so much information in so little time that I found his workshops confusing. But I was sold on his idea that understanding how the elements of story work as soon as possible saves huge time and effort in writing. Because the first story in my vampire series is so long I’m trying to turn it into two books, I went up afterwards and asked Brooks, “Is The Lord of the Rings one story or two?” He said, “That’s why I clarified ‘modern book.’” In other words, what I could most easily do is not allowed today, though it was in the ancient days of J.R.R. Tolkien. I told him of my dilemma—that I feel like I may be forcing a long tale into two separate boxes. He said, “If it won’t work as two stories, you’ll just have to write it as a 70,000-word book and let the editors help you hone it down.” Actually, I don’t know how many words I have in all. I know I have over 500 pages, mostly single-spaced, and that the draft isn’t finished. I question whether a publisher would accept a manuscript that long from a first-time author and go through all the trouble it would take to shorten it. And I don’t have the money to pay a freelance editor to do that for me. So for now my story is in limbo again. It’s time for faith to carry me and my project through another crisis.
I would miss Sunday’s Story 303 because of another workshop in that timeslot, but I bought Brooks' book, Story Engineering
. He signed it, “Robin—One book or two? Go for it … and enjoy!” I will be writing more about Brooks’ model of story writing in one of the blogs as I study my notes and read his book. I may also consult the diagrams on his website.
Rushing Ahead to Great News
This brings us to about midpoint of Saturday in a description I wanted to keep much briefer. Since my text in Word is over four pages long in 11-point type, and since the conference ended 11 days ago, I’m going to stop here and take up the rest of this story in my next blog. Because this post is more biographical and informational than a structured story, I don’t have a problem with cutting it in half—or in more parts, if need be. But before I stop for today, I’m going to rush ahead and tell you the big perk of the whole conference for me: Sunday, as the conference was wrapping up, I sat at a very lucky table. I say that tongue-in-cheek, as I really don’t believe in luck. Maybe I should say a blessed table? The guy next to me won a book when his returned nametag was drawn at random. Then the guy next to him won a book the same way. Lastly, I won one of the raffles to “Hobnob with an Author.” I had paid $10 for 15 tickets and, because I couldn’t decide which author on the list I wanted to spend an hour with, I specified some for mystery writer April Henry and some for playwright and screenwriter Cynthia Whitcomb (Saturday's lunch speaker and sister of Laura Whitcomb). I won the opportunity to meet with Cynthia Whitcomb. I will be having coffee with her tomorrow morning, and I’m still not entirely sure what I will ask or say. Stay tuned and you will find out how it went.
To Be Continued…
I was super privileged to attend the Willamette Writers Conference this year. It was my third such conference, and I think my last was in 2009. This year it was easier to reach because it was held at the Doubletree Inn by Portland’s Lloyds Center, right along the Max lightrail track.
The first event, Pitch for the Prize, was Thursday night of July 31, and I was so excited I couldn’t even pack a dinner—or do anything else. So I left as soon as I could and enjoyed a big steak salad at Denny’s along the way, where I flipped a quarter to help me decide which workshops to attend that were slated for the same time slots as others I wanted. My quarter would insist I take one workshop—then I would think I wanted the other.
Entering the hotel was pure pleasure. I looked for Willamette Writers nametags everywhere, seeking other crazy people driven to create via the written word and spread their creations throughout the known universe. It still amazes me how many of us there are, because outside such events, writing for publication can be a lonely venture. Most of my friends and family members aren’t writers. My mother didn’t encourage my passion, and although my father did, he insisted I would have to always sell shoes or something for a living. I still believe him, although I’m no good at selling shoes. Is that why I’m still poor?
I picked up my nametag and folder early, so I had plenty of time to look at the Barnes and Noble corner that featured books on writing and other titles, the silent auction area that was just being set up (it was hot in there at the time), and the information table to learn more about Pitch for the Prize and Manuscript ER. In the first event, writers chosen randomly to give a three-minute pitch of their manuscripts to a panel of editors and agents paid $5, got advice from the judges after their pitches, and the writer whose pitch was deemed best took home all the entry money. I didn’t have a manuscript ready to pitch, but after a while I wished I did. I learned a lot. I took notes, and I might write more later about my experience either here or in the Authors by Design blog. But first I will blog about conference details that are more applicable to what I am doing now. These posts are certain to interest other writers who are in the formulation and writing stages of their creations. They may also interest readers who want to understand what moves them and why, how stories work, and how writers make the kinds they most enjoy.
Friday
Friday, I missed the workshop waiting for Manuscript ER and then getting the advice of “ER operator” Cheri Lasota of Stirling Editing. I was told we would have 15 minutes together, but we must have had well over half an hour. She taught me what I need to do to convert my too-long novel into two separate stories, and revealed the importance of making my whole series have its own story arc. She gave me some tips on how to do that, and recommended I learn more from Larry Brooks, who was teaching three workshops at the conference. She referred me to a blog post by Susan Kaye Quinn to help me brainstorm the rest of my series. The link is www.susankayequinn.com/2013/12/brainstorming-book.html>. Lasota’s website is CheeriLasota.com/StirlingEditing/.
Waiting for Manuscript ER was no chore. While I did so, I began meeting interesting writers, some whom I would run into later throughout the conference. Like Brittany “Bri” Maresh from Alaska, who, when I told her I was writing a vampire series, said, “We love you!” and named me some books she said I must read (Demon in My View by Amelia Atwater Rhedes
, Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
, and Sunshine by Robin McKinley
).I’m so glad my drive to finish what I was first inspired to write some fourteen years ago didn’t let me stop when some “experts” in publishing told me “Vampires are dead” (no pun intended?) I don’t chase trends. I write what God gives me to write and what speaks to me, what I hope will speak to others, whatever people might think of the subject matter. I don’t copy other’s work. I almost cringe when anyone responds to me by saying, “Oh yes, vampires are so in now,” or “Of course you write about vampires. Ever since Twilight…” FYI, I got the dream that started me writing my AVS stories before there was a Twilight, and when I started reading the thing and heard it was a bestseller, I was heartbroken and scared. Is this what the audience I’m aiming for likes? I thought. Drivel by a person who breaks every writing rule I was ever taught? Do I have to be compared and contrasted to this amateur? The only really good thing about those books, I thought, was the cover art, and that was only for the original hardbacks. I thought it might be death to my dream. But this Willamette Writers Conference included the videoed opinions of actual high school students, one who said she was sick of vampires because of Twilight. That quote mostly encouraged me; they are not looking for a duplicate. I just have to make my stories different and better. My vampires are not like Stephanie Meyers’s, and my stories are fresh.
From ER, I ran quickly down to the big, crowded room where Larry Brooks taught Story 101: The Three-Way Collision of Idea, Concept, and Premise. He also talked about theme but for some reason didn’t include it in his title. He challenged us to define “story.” One single word that epitomizes a story: Conflict. “Without plot,” he said, “the exploration of a character is a biography of a fictional character, not a story.”
Lunch followed. Having the deluxe admission, I got to hear a speaker with each lunch as well as meet more wonderful fellow writers. Friday’s speaker was Gayathri Ramprasad, who wrote Shadows in the Sun: Healing from Depression and Finding the Light Within
. I wish my camera was working, because Ramprasad was drop-dead gorgeous in her purple sari, all her jewelry, and her black hair piled high on her head. When she read that as a child she was "a princess," I could believe it. Later, mental illness and abuse drew her down into a deep chasm. But getting locked up set her free to learn they couldn’t lock up her spirit. She found love, acceptance, courage, and compassion among the mentally ill. Yet she discovered that they are misplaced and mistreated in prisons and asylums around the world. Overwhelmed, she was comforted by the words of Mother Teresa: “We can do no great things. We can do small things with great love.” (This saying also spoke to me on a special occasion, just two days after Mother Teresa went to Heaven.) Ramprasad formed ASHA International (www.myasha.org) to spread understanding about mental illness and to reduce stigma against this cluster of diseases that one out of four people experience sometime in life.It was at one of these lunches I met Paula Blackwelder (from Florida), who is working on a documentary about a trapeze artist she knew while performing for the circus herself. I was to run into her several more times (who could miss her long, straight, black hair?), and hear more than one person encourage her to write her own story. If interested in her projects, check out Circus Nation TV Network at www.OnNowTV.com/232.
Next I attended Gordon Warnock’s workshop, An Agent Explains Author Platforms. I had high hopes for this one, but it was the one event that didn’t help me much. It seemed most helpful for non-fiction writers. Other than attending horror conventions, I couldn’t think what real organizations to get involved in to draw attention to my vampire books. I couldn’t even think of any questions to ask.
My next workshop more than made up for that. Laura Whitcomb, author of the YA love stories A Certain Slant of Light
, Under the Light
and The Fetch
, taught Magical Worlds and Real Romance. She said that you can make any world seem so real and down to earth it becomes like magic. She gave us several writing exercises (some which I will continue for some time to come), to help us establish the rules of our magical worlds and to inspire us to believe for the best and keep on writing until we achieve it.Saturday
My first Saturday workshop was helpful, but I can’t do it justice without sharing a lot of pictures. The subject was Cover Design Secrets You Can Use to Sell More Books, by designer Derek Murphy. It would take me a long time to post a small portion of the covers he showed us, and here they would appear awfully small. His website, www.creativeindie.com will give you some good examples. Here are some highlights of his advice: It is the job of the cover to tell readers what’s in the book. A cover should not so much explain as attract. There are conventions for each genre that help readers find what they want—for instance, vampire books are black, red, and maybe white, sometimes with blood splatters on them. Spirituality is purple or blue. Covers for fiction should make an emotional connection, nonfiction more of a cognitive one. Consider how your cover should look when it’s really small as well as up close. Contrasting colors make a good cover “pop.” The cover should not be crowded but have lots of space. Murphy provided a number of web addresses for stock photography and text, but if you use stock pictures, be sure to change them enough that they don’t look like every other book using that art. If you want to know more from my notes of this workshop or my others, just comment below or message me. It will help me decide what to publish, and if I don’t post about the event you want more info on, I will send you the info personally.
I showed Murphy my sketch for the cover of my first AVS book. Like I thought when he was teaching, it’s too busy. I had Mary, my main character, looking into a dream catcher (because she has prophetic dreams) and behind the dream catcher my vampire girl luring her boyfriend away and the boy approaching her with interest. Murphy advised just featuring Mary behind the dream catcher with her distraught expression. I don’t know if I like that idea as much, but he said that the best cover often isn’t the author’s favorite. At least a front view would show her silver heart locket, which is an important to the story.
I then went to hear Larry Brooks again. In Story 202: Discovering Story Through Structure, he said a great story is about something happening in the pursuit of a resolution to something. A story has four parts: set up (introducing the hero); response (the situation grows darker, the stakes bigger, and the hero becomes a “wanderer”); attack (the hero becomes a “warrior” and has some effectiveness with the problem); and resolution (in which the hero must be a primary catalyst). The setup contains one or more inciting incidents—parts where the conflict becomes apparent. The most important part of the story is the first plot point, which happens between the first and second of the four sections; this event launches the hero’s journey and what he/she needs to do. Between the response and attack is a second plot point (there can be more), which makes the journey different or new. This midpoint a good place for revealing secrets. Between the attack and the resolution is sometimes a lull—a place of despondency for the main characters. If this leaves you scratching your head, please realize I’m giving a quick outline and I’m just learning this stuff. It helps to note examples and figure out how the model fits your own work or those of others who have succeeded before you. Brooks gave many examples from movies and books.
The man gave out so much information in so little time that I found his workshops confusing. But I was sold on his idea that understanding how the elements of story work as soon as possible saves huge time and effort in writing. Because the first story in my vampire series is so long I’m trying to turn it into two books, I went up afterwards and asked Brooks, “Is The Lord of the Rings one story or two?” He said, “That’s why I clarified ‘modern book.’” In other words, what I could most easily do is not allowed today, though it was in the ancient days of J.R.R. Tolkien. I told him of my dilemma—that I feel like I may be forcing a long tale into two separate boxes. He said, “If it won’t work as two stories, you’ll just have to write it as a 70,000-word book and let the editors help you hone it down.” Actually, I don’t know how many words I have in all. I know I have over 500 pages, mostly single-spaced, and that the draft isn’t finished. I question whether a publisher would accept a manuscript that long from a first-time author and go through all the trouble it would take to shorten it. And I don’t have the money to pay a freelance editor to do that for me. So for now my story is in limbo again. It’s time for faith to carry me and my project through another crisis.
I would miss Sunday’s Story 303 because of another workshop in that timeslot, but I bought Brooks' book, Story Engineering
. He signed it, “Robin—One book or two? Go for it … and enjoy!” I will be writing more about Brooks’ model of story writing in one of the blogs as I study my notes and read his book. I may also consult the diagrams on his website.Rushing Ahead to Great News
This brings us to about midpoint of Saturday in a description I wanted to keep much briefer. Since my text in Word is over four pages long in 11-point type, and since the conference ended 11 days ago, I’m going to stop here and take up the rest of this story in my next blog. Because this post is more biographical and informational than a structured story, I don’t have a problem with cutting it in half—or in more parts, if need be. But before I stop for today, I’m going to rush ahead and tell you the big perk of the whole conference for me: Sunday, as the conference was wrapping up, I sat at a very lucky table. I say that tongue-in-cheek, as I really don’t believe in luck. Maybe I should say a blessed table? The guy next to me won a book when his returned nametag was drawn at random. Then the guy next to him won a book the same way. Lastly, I won one of the raffles to “Hobnob with an Author.” I had paid $10 for 15 tickets and, because I couldn’t decide which author on the list I wanted to spend an hour with, I specified some for mystery writer April Henry and some for playwright and screenwriter Cynthia Whitcomb (Saturday's lunch speaker and sister of Laura Whitcomb). I won the opportunity to meet with Cynthia Whitcomb. I will be having coffee with her tomorrow morning, and I’m still not entirely sure what I will ask or say. Stay tuned and you will find out how it went.
To Be Continued…
June 25, 2014
Come Talk With Me About Dreams and Fiction
How do you feel about dreams as plot devices in fiction?
I had not considered that there could be any problem with writing a main character whose prophetic dreams play a prominent part in a story. After all, there is a great precedent for it in the Bible, and I've run across it in what I considered some very good fiction. And I wasn't trying to copycat anything when I decided that the protagonist of my vampire novel (which is now a series in the works)has dreams that come true that help her in her quest. But just last night, a fellow writer shared a differing viewpoint. Are dreams in fiction boring? If dreams are prophetic, do they make it too easy for characters to do what they have to do? I spell out my friend's argument more on my Wordpress blog--and I would be delighted if she expands on it in her own words there. I would like to discuss this matter with as many people as possible, ideally people with varied viewpoints. I might have some of the discussion on Goodreads, if it draws interest here, but a lot of people don't have Goodreads accounts. Right now, I'm trying to centralize it through Wordpress comments. And I have included a painting of the dreamer of my novel, the protagonist, Mary. You probably haven't heard of her yet, since she is neither featured in the short stories I posted on my profile on GR or in the vampire interviews in the WP blog. It's about time I introduce her. While it is true that without the vampires, I wouldn't have vampire stories, it's also true that I still wouldn't have a story without someone to oppose the vampires. And if Mary didn't have her dreams, I don't see how she could deal with such powerful creatures of evil. So please, come visit RobinLayneAuthor.WordPress.com and don't be just a spectator. Tell me what you think as a reader, writer, and/or just as a human being. Your suggestions can help me to make a better series of books that we can all enjoy.
I had not considered that there could be any problem with writing a main character whose prophetic dreams play a prominent part in a story. After all, there is a great precedent for it in the Bible, and I've run across it in what I considered some very good fiction. And I wasn't trying to copycat anything when I decided that the protagonist of my vampire novel (which is now a series in the works)has dreams that come true that help her in her quest. But just last night, a fellow writer shared a differing viewpoint. Are dreams in fiction boring? If dreams are prophetic, do they make it too easy for characters to do what they have to do? I spell out my friend's argument more on my Wordpress blog--and I would be delighted if she expands on it in her own words there. I would like to discuss this matter with as many people as possible, ideally people with varied viewpoints. I might have some of the discussion on Goodreads, if it draws interest here, but a lot of people don't have Goodreads accounts. Right now, I'm trying to centralize it through Wordpress comments. And I have included a painting of the dreamer of my novel, the protagonist, Mary. You probably haven't heard of her yet, since she is neither featured in the short stories I posted on my profile on GR or in the vampire interviews in the WP blog. It's about time I introduce her. While it is true that without the vampires, I wouldn't have vampire stories, it's also true that I still wouldn't have a story without someone to oppose the vampires. And if Mary didn't have her dreams, I don't see how she could deal with such powerful creatures of evil. So please, come visit RobinLayneAuthor.WordPress.com and don't be just a spectator. Tell me what you think as a reader, writer, and/or just as a human being. Your suggestions can help me to make a better series of books that we can all enjoy.
May 4, 2014
Progress with the AVS, Meeting Ernie, and Barking in the Rain
You might say my career is now going to the dogs … or not. What I mean to say, always loving a good pun, is that I am now on the editing staff of Barking Rain Press (BRP). I’d be doing summersaults if this older dog was able to, because it’s the publisher I most wanted to work for.
I discovered BRP at Wordstock last October. Publisher Sheri Gormley sat at one of booths, with books the company has published on display. Barking Rain’s motto is “Books with Bite.” I learned that the dog on its logo is named Elvis (an incarnation of the rock star nobody has guessed yet?)
BRP publishes fiction and nonfiction for adults and young adults. Looking at the covers and reading some of the blurbs got me excited; not only was this a publisher I would love to edit for. Judging from some of the books on display, it was the first publisher I’d seen that takes the kind of mixture of genres I am writing in my vampire series. (Their title that most resembles my series in progress is—I kid you not—The Celibate Succubus.)I talked to Ms. Gormley about the possibility of employment. She gave me the name of the editor from whom to request a copyediting test. I did as she asked and took the test, using The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition, as requested. CMOS, as those in the business call it, is the standard for book publishers (as the AP Stylebook is for newspapers).
Editor Ti Locke’s response was that my copyediting skills were good but that I had missed a few matters of punctuation. This humbled me, because I think of punctuation as my strong suit. She said I had not changed the quotation marks from the straight to the curly kind, and I had not formatted the ellipses properly. Well, I had no excuse for the straight quotations, and I don’t know why I didn’t correct them, but I remembered being taught from my online Berkeley class to include a space between each dot in an ellipses, and I did that. Locke said in her email that she would pass my test on to Gormley. I expected to hear from Gormley one way or another, but as the silent months dragged on, I assumed I was not chosen, and I turned my attention to other projects. I took a class that helped me immensely with organization, prioritizing, and even setting and pursuing my most precious goals. I put together a very serviceable planning book small enough to carry around with me everywhere. It’s a lifesaver. And I made headway on my vampire novel by dovetailing some goal managing advice from the class and information about story premises and character emotional arcs from a speaker at a Willamette Writers meeting whose name I unfortunately cannot find at the moment (which says I still have more organizing to do!). Thanks to learning to write a premise, and to focus character arcs around that premise, to using visualization to kick-start my motivation, to setting goals and to scheduling days to accomplish them, the first of my Anti-Vampirism Society stories is more in focus. I updated the numbering of my chapter files, renamed some chapters, rewrote my extended synopsis, rearranged some of the story’s events to make better sense, edited five chapters (one a week), and completed emotional arcs for four of the main characters and one minor character. Unfortunately, the class required me to take on other projects and I had to slow the writing plans. Once the class ended, I stopped working on the character arcs; poor Melanie is stuck in the process, and Alex hasn’t entered into an arc yet at all. (Noah could be telling them to hurry up.)
You can also read about that process, and see my new painting of the vampire Carletta, on my AVS blog, RobinLayneAuthor.Wordpress.com.
I receive a monthly bus pass from an organization that has been helping me prepare for and find work. Toward the end of March, the pass came wrapped in a form asking me what companies I wanted to work for and what jobs I had applied for. It was due back in about a week. I was surprised, but I got busy. I took out some information from past book fairs, sorted it all into categories, and wrote emails to all the publishers that might be offering jobs for editors. And I finally took my head out of the sand and went through CMOS’s entire section on ellipses. There I found plenty of information on where that confounded punctuation should be used, but not a single instance of how to lay out those three dots. I wrote to Ti Locke about it. She told me that using a space before and after the three dots but no spaces between them is the only format recognized by InDesign. (If you haven’t fallen asleep reading this, you may be an editor yet.) It took a few emails back and forth—and I worried that I wore her patience thin—before I realized that the formatting information on ellipses came from the online version of CMOS, which had sections extending beyond those in the book. Locke also said in her response to my initial punctuation question that some of my correspondence might have been misplaced in the busyness of book production. So the humble ellipses just might have put me back on their company’s radar.
Meanwhile, I looked on Craigslist under writing/editing jobs. I applied to Liberty Voice, an online newspaper, with hopes of writing features and reviews and also becoming one of its copyeditors. They told me to write three stories, one a day over three days. I did. I worried I would run out of subject matter for stories at such a pace. Then they admitted me to their “boot camp,” which required me to Skype every day with the company for an untold number of hours, plus write a story every day. And not just any story. It had to use as the main word in its headline one of the subjects of the leading articles on Google news. I know the idea was create stories that might go viral. But I decided as far back as 1979 that I did not want to be a newspaper reporter, and now, though I tried, I couldn’t find a single headline on the list that inspired a story I was capable of writing. If I knew celebrities or politicians I could interview, it would be different. Without a way in to places I didn’t really want to be in the first place, I couldn’t possibly meet a few hours’ deadline to write an article. The whole process was making a nervous wreck of me. By Easter weekend, I quit.
When next I met with my job counselor, he told me I wasn’t required to fill out the job search report. The assistant just started including those to keep people from seeing the shape of the bus pass in the envelope.
Following my quitting Liberty Voice, my computer quit. That PC, which my friend Christopher had given me, had been freezing on me for a long time, and it did so more and more frequently. The “blue screen of doom” error message appeared for what I was sure was the last time. I couldn’t have gone on with Liberty Voice if I’d wanted to.
Another friend, Kevin, saved most of my files to a flash drive and then confirmed that the PC was a goner. He recommended I get a laptop with a loading dock, and promised to price some on Craigslist. We thought the cost would be a few hundred dollars. I believed the employment agency would pay for a new computer for me, considering my line of work. Kevin called me later with amazing news: He had found two laptops with loading docks for sale at the same place for $50 and $60, and the $50 one was the better of the two. It had more memory and could burn DVDs, he said. I gave him the go-ahead to snatch up this bargain.
Meanwhile, I kept trying to reach my job counselor. Finally an assistant told me my counselor had said they could not finance the computer “because it isn’t necessary for employment.” I was confused and angry. I had hoped I could use the money to help my daughter with some needs.
The Thursday after Easter, I finally got to talk to my counselor—itself a miracle. He explained that the agency couldn’t fund a computer unless I had an offer for a job that required a home computer, and they had to make sure the computer fit the requirements of the job. My anger disappeared.
That afternoon, because Kevin hadn’t finished loading files onto my new laptop, I was using a computer at a library. I received an email from Sheri Gormley asking me if I was still interested in editing for Barking Rain Press.
So the day that I learned the requirements to get a computer paid for was the day I met those requirements. I won’t go into detail about the things that went wrong with the new computer and the hard work that Christopher went through to fix it. But it’s working now ... and so am I.
I like to name my computers. The last one was Frank-N-Stein. I’m keeping Frank until I get the rest of my files transferred to Ernie. Ernie is the newbie’s name because I noticed its official name is “ERN” with some numbers added. I haven’t taken Ernie on any outings because I’m not sure the touch pad will work properly before it gets the driver it asks for every time I boot, and also because, heck, this is western Oregon, it can rain any time, and I don’t have a protective case.
My new job is exciting. I’m not just a copyeditor, or just a proofreader, or just an acquisitions editor. Right now I’ve joined the rest of the crew in going through the slush pile, picking submissions to read, and deciding, based on four sample chapters, a synopsis, and a marketing plan, whether we should reject the submission or ask to see the complete manuscript. At least two reviews are required for each book before a decision is made. Later, when I find a book I really like, I will champion it, being its editor from beginning to end. When that book is accepted for publication, I receive a small lump sum. Upon publication, my name will be printed in the book as the editor, and I will begin receiving royalties for every book sold. I also get a small lump sum for proofreading a book—going over it one last time to check for small errors and formatting problems before it is prepared for press.
This is not a job I expect to make a lot of money on, unless any books I edit sell very well. But I believe it is a company I can get behind, it is work I love, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow in my field. I am currently reading the third submission I picked to read. I’m loving this submission. And I’m loving the job. I am noticing plenty of instances of all things working out to my good—no matter how bad, disappointing, or annoying they seem at first. I am rejoicing! Rowf!
Check out BRP at BarkingRainPress.org
I discovered BRP at Wordstock last October. Publisher Sheri Gormley sat at one of booths, with books the company has published on display. Barking Rain’s motto is “Books with Bite.” I learned that the dog on its logo is named Elvis (an incarnation of the rock star nobody has guessed yet?)
BRP publishes fiction and nonfiction for adults and young adults. Looking at the covers and reading some of the blurbs got me excited; not only was this a publisher I would love to edit for. Judging from some of the books on display, it was the first publisher I’d seen that takes the kind of mixture of genres I am writing in my vampire series. (Their title that most resembles my series in progress is—I kid you not—The Celibate Succubus.)I talked to Ms. Gormley about the possibility of employment. She gave me the name of the editor from whom to request a copyediting test. I did as she asked and took the test, using The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition, as requested. CMOS, as those in the business call it, is the standard for book publishers (as the AP Stylebook is for newspapers).
Editor Ti Locke’s response was that my copyediting skills were good but that I had missed a few matters of punctuation. This humbled me, because I think of punctuation as my strong suit. She said I had not changed the quotation marks from the straight to the curly kind, and I had not formatted the ellipses properly. Well, I had no excuse for the straight quotations, and I don’t know why I didn’t correct them, but I remembered being taught from my online Berkeley class to include a space between each dot in an ellipses, and I did that. Locke said in her email that she would pass my test on to Gormley. I expected to hear from Gormley one way or another, but as the silent months dragged on, I assumed I was not chosen, and I turned my attention to other projects. I took a class that helped me immensely with organization, prioritizing, and even setting and pursuing my most precious goals. I put together a very serviceable planning book small enough to carry around with me everywhere. It’s a lifesaver. And I made headway on my vampire novel by dovetailing some goal managing advice from the class and information about story premises and character emotional arcs from a speaker at a Willamette Writers meeting whose name I unfortunately cannot find at the moment (which says I still have more organizing to do!). Thanks to learning to write a premise, and to focus character arcs around that premise, to using visualization to kick-start my motivation, to setting goals and to scheduling days to accomplish them, the first of my Anti-Vampirism Society stories is more in focus. I updated the numbering of my chapter files, renamed some chapters, rewrote my extended synopsis, rearranged some of the story’s events to make better sense, edited five chapters (one a week), and completed emotional arcs for four of the main characters and one minor character. Unfortunately, the class required me to take on other projects and I had to slow the writing plans. Once the class ended, I stopped working on the character arcs; poor Melanie is stuck in the process, and Alex hasn’t entered into an arc yet at all. (Noah could be telling them to hurry up.)
You can also read about that process, and see my new painting of the vampire Carletta, on my AVS blog, RobinLayneAuthor.Wordpress.com.
I receive a monthly bus pass from an organization that has been helping me prepare for and find work. Toward the end of March, the pass came wrapped in a form asking me what companies I wanted to work for and what jobs I had applied for. It was due back in about a week. I was surprised, but I got busy. I took out some information from past book fairs, sorted it all into categories, and wrote emails to all the publishers that might be offering jobs for editors. And I finally took my head out of the sand and went through CMOS’s entire section on ellipses. There I found plenty of information on where that confounded punctuation should be used, but not a single instance of how to lay out those three dots. I wrote to Ti Locke about it. She told me that using a space before and after the three dots but no spaces between them is the only format recognized by InDesign. (If you haven’t fallen asleep reading this, you may be an editor yet.) It took a few emails back and forth—and I worried that I wore her patience thin—before I realized that the formatting information on ellipses came from the online version of CMOS, which had sections extending beyond those in the book. Locke also said in her response to my initial punctuation question that some of my correspondence might have been misplaced in the busyness of book production. So the humble ellipses just might have put me back on their company’s radar.
Meanwhile, I looked on Craigslist under writing/editing jobs. I applied to Liberty Voice, an online newspaper, with hopes of writing features and reviews and also becoming one of its copyeditors. They told me to write three stories, one a day over three days. I did. I worried I would run out of subject matter for stories at such a pace. Then they admitted me to their “boot camp,” which required me to Skype every day with the company for an untold number of hours, plus write a story every day. And not just any story. It had to use as the main word in its headline one of the subjects of the leading articles on Google news. I know the idea was create stories that might go viral. But I decided as far back as 1979 that I did not want to be a newspaper reporter, and now, though I tried, I couldn’t find a single headline on the list that inspired a story I was capable of writing. If I knew celebrities or politicians I could interview, it would be different. Without a way in to places I didn’t really want to be in the first place, I couldn’t possibly meet a few hours’ deadline to write an article. The whole process was making a nervous wreck of me. By Easter weekend, I quit.
When next I met with my job counselor, he told me I wasn’t required to fill out the job search report. The assistant just started including those to keep people from seeing the shape of the bus pass in the envelope.
Following my quitting Liberty Voice, my computer quit. That PC, which my friend Christopher had given me, had been freezing on me for a long time, and it did so more and more frequently. The “blue screen of doom” error message appeared for what I was sure was the last time. I couldn’t have gone on with Liberty Voice if I’d wanted to.
Another friend, Kevin, saved most of my files to a flash drive and then confirmed that the PC was a goner. He recommended I get a laptop with a loading dock, and promised to price some on Craigslist. We thought the cost would be a few hundred dollars. I believed the employment agency would pay for a new computer for me, considering my line of work. Kevin called me later with amazing news: He had found two laptops with loading docks for sale at the same place for $50 and $60, and the $50 one was the better of the two. It had more memory and could burn DVDs, he said. I gave him the go-ahead to snatch up this bargain.
Meanwhile, I kept trying to reach my job counselor. Finally an assistant told me my counselor had said they could not finance the computer “because it isn’t necessary for employment.” I was confused and angry. I had hoped I could use the money to help my daughter with some needs.
The Thursday after Easter, I finally got to talk to my counselor—itself a miracle. He explained that the agency couldn’t fund a computer unless I had an offer for a job that required a home computer, and they had to make sure the computer fit the requirements of the job. My anger disappeared.
That afternoon, because Kevin hadn’t finished loading files onto my new laptop, I was using a computer at a library. I received an email from Sheri Gormley asking me if I was still interested in editing for Barking Rain Press.
So the day that I learned the requirements to get a computer paid for was the day I met those requirements. I won’t go into detail about the things that went wrong with the new computer and the hard work that Christopher went through to fix it. But it’s working now ... and so am I.
I like to name my computers. The last one was Frank-N-Stein. I’m keeping Frank until I get the rest of my files transferred to Ernie. Ernie is the newbie’s name because I noticed its official name is “ERN” with some numbers added. I haven’t taken Ernie on any outings because I’m not sure the touch pad will work properly before it gets the driver it asks for every time I boot, and also because, heck, this is western Oregon, it can rain any time, and I don’t have a protective case.
My new job is exciting. I’m not just a copyeditor, or just a proofreader, or just an acquisitions editor. Right now I’ve joined the rest of the crew in going through the slush pile, picking submissions to read, and deciding, based on four sample chapters, a synopsis, and a marketing plan, whether we should reject the submission or ask to see the complete manuscript. At least two reviews are required for each book before a decision is made. Later, when I find a book I really like, I will champion it, being its editor from beginning to end. When that book is accepted for publication, I receive a small lump sum. Upon publication, my name will be printed in the book as the editor, and I will begin receiving royalties for every book sold. I also get a small lump sum for proofreading a book—going over it one last time to check for small errors and formatting problems before it is prepared for press.
This is not a job I expect to make a lot of money on, unless any books I edit sell very well. But I believe it is a company I can get behind, it is work I love, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow in my field. I am currently reading the third submission I picked to read. I’m loving this submission. And I’m loving the job. I am noticing plenty of instances of all things working out to my good—no matter how bad, disappointing, or annoying they seem at first. I am rejoicing! Rowf!
Check out BRP at BarkingRainPress.org
December 21, 2013
On Not Reading: Confessions of a Caroling Bell Ringer
This Christmas season, I am bell-ringing for the Salvation Army six hours a day, six days a week. I am not, as some who pass by assume, a volunteer. I earn minimum wage. I need the money to pay bills. But I also love the job. I did it every year since my daughter was small, until I went back to college and was too busy with my studies. What could be so great about standing—or sitting, when my medical problems flare up—for hours on end ringing a bell? First off, it’s for a good cause. The kettle money is the only source that the Salvation Army has to help the needy within this county at Christmas time and all year round. I also love greeting people, spreading cheer and blessings and keeping an attitude of prayer throughout the day. If I had a present for every time that someone wished me a Merry Christmas out there in front of the Safeway—or the times I wished others the same—I don’t know where I would fit all the gifts. I represent Christmas and a Christian ministry and church that is well-liked by all types of people. Some people tell me that it is the only social service that gets through to military workers and disaster victims. I love watching children enjoy giving, and I laugh that they call me Santa although I’m a woman and I don’t exactly dress the part. They ought to know better, I think, because while I ring, I sing. My favorite part of this job is the special contribution of my voice.
Never mind the story that a robin heralds the spring. This Robin gets her greatest opportunity to sing out in the winter: carols about the birth of my beloved Lord, songs of joy about fun times, hymns of thanks and worship, and titles that aren’t connected with Christmas but speak of winter cold and snow. I even wrote two of my own verses to “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas”:
Jolly old Saint Nicholas,
lend your ear this way;
I hope you tell everyone
what I’m going to say.
Christmas Eve is coming soon;
Now, you dear old man,
whisper what it really means,
tell me if you can.
Daddy wants a brand new car,
Mommy wants a house,
sister wants a new PC,
kitty wants a mouse;
But these kinds of presents can’t
give our spirits rest;
Only God, who sent His Son,
gives the very best.
You can listen to me sing this on YouTube: St. Nicholas song
People like my voice. They don’t often stop long enough to hear a whole song, or even a whole verse, but it is enough to cheer them, invite compliments, sympathy when it’s cold, and cups of Starbucks hot cocoa, not to mention an increasing number of donations as the season progresses. I’m not allowed to put money in the bucket myself this year, which leads to some people’s carts rolling down the sloping sidewalk into the parking lot, especially if I have to sit in my chair and can’t reach to hold the cart for them.
The plan this year was for every paid ringer to work Monday through Friday, replaced by volunteers on Saturday, but at my location no one volunteered during the hours I work (1 to 7 pm.). I’m happy to make the extra money, but boy does it keep me busy! When I’m not at work or commuting to and from, it amazes me how much time just preparing Christmas letters and cards takes. Not to mention all the time (and money) it took to get enough warm clothes to get me through freezing days. I wear ski pants every day, two wool sweaters, two warm hats under my Santa cap, and more layers than that under my wool coat. A lot of people say, “You picked a cold day to do this!” or “You must be freezing!” Some nights I nearly am, but other times I’m hot in all those layers. I look at these people, dressed as if for summer, and I wonder how they can stand just walking in and out of the store. Some say, “You should be inside!” I don’t belong inside; I would bake in my layers, I wouldn’t be able to sing, and I probably couldn’t ring, either.
I have to carry a lot with me on the bus to work including a full thermos, a lunch to eat just before I start, a cozy blanket for when I am sitting on the colder days, toe and hand warmers, you name it. So I don’t take a book. I am used to reading on the bus. Ergo, I’m not getting my reading done. And—here’s where the real confession comes in—although I have no excuse about weight or volume at home, I have hardly read my Bible since I started the job this season. Normally I read some nearly every morning with breakfast. Now at that meal, I pore over my schedule book, address Christmas cards, make phone calls, whatever else I feel I need to do. I feel like the biblical Martha, a human doing rather than a human being, when I’m at home doing all these tasks. Only last Saturday and Sunday did I slow down. I found play even more necessary than sleep last night. I dinked around on the computer until about 4 in the morning, although I had to get up at 6:30 to get ready for church. Then, I brought a book on the bus, Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power Of Positive Thinking. And I actually read! I read about the importance of taking time to relax and to read some Bible.
The human being is alive from the depths of her heart at the kettle. My church has no choir, and I haven’t played my guitar in a long time; I lack the motivation to take up those songs I wrote long ago or write new ones when the guitar playing has become so rusty. But at the kettle, the person I most entertain is myself. What I lack in Bible reading, I make up for in worship. When the only reading I do is the lyrics in my song folder, I’m in my element. Some of the songs even make me cry—which is bad for singing, let me tell you. And my range is sometimes lacking, especially earlier in the day. Although “O Holy Night” is practically everyone’s favorite, I won’t attempt it before dark. But I can sing “I Want a Hippopotamus” anytime. “The Grinch Song” I don’t usually attempt because I’m afraid passersby might think I’m saying all those despicable things about them. Anyway, you get the idea.
If you want to read some of my reflections about Christmas songs, go to http://robinlayne.hubpages.com/hub/Cr.... It also features a picture of me at the kettle and a video of me singing my “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” verses … complete with my daughter’s cat on my lap—until he, like my audience in front of the store, rushes off to other business.
Another confession: I did bring my draft of this post with me on the bus to edit. But since it’s not a book, it doesn’t really count as “reading,” does it? Just as writing short things like this while ignoring my novel-in-progress doesn’t count as “writing.”
The reason I have time to post this now is that my body very radically told me to take a break: The ankle I sprained prior to the beginning of my job acted up today and I had to skip working on what might be one of the best-yielding days of the season (the Saturday before Christmas). And if it’s not the ankle, it’s a knee. At least there were two volunteers today, from 10 to noon and from noon to 2.
I’d already arranged for a friend to pick up my Christmas food box today. Can you hazard a guess as to the source of this gift? Yep. The Salvation Army. Better than the food, to my mind, was flyer with a new rendition of the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
As above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals,
Keep us forgiven with you
And forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the evil one.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
AMEN
Okay . . . When it’s that potent a message, it doesn’t have to be a portion of a book. It counts as reading.
I will post a picture of myself at the kettle from a few years back in my Photos section.
I urge you also to “do the most good” in all your endeavors both during this season and all year long.
Merry Christmas to all, to all a good night, and peace through 2014!
Never mind the story that a robin heralds the spring. This Robin gets her greatest opportunity to sing out in the winter: carols about the birth of my beloved Lord, songs of joy about fun times, hymns of thanks and worship, and titles that aren’t connected with Christmas but speak of winter cold and snow. I even wrote two of my own verses to “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas”:
Jolly old Saint Nicholas,
lend your ear this way;
I hope you tell everyone
what I’m going to say.
Christmas Eve is coming soon;
Now, you dear old man,
whisper what it really means,
tell me if you can.
Daddy wants a brand new car,
Mommy wants a house,
sister wants a new PC,
kitty wants a mouse;
But these kinds of presents can’t
give our spirits rest;
Only God, who sent His Son,
gives the very best.
You can listen to me sing this on YouTube: St. Nicholas song
People like my voice. They don’t often stop long enough to hear a whole song, or even a whole verse, but it is enough to cheer them, invite compliments, sympathy when it’s cold, and cups of Starbucks hot cocoa, not to mention an increasing number of donations as the season progresses. I’m not allowed to put money in the bucket myself this year, which leads to some people’s carts rolling down the sloping sidewalk into the parking lot, especially if I have to sit in my chair and can’t reach to hold the cart for them.
The plan this year was for every paid ringer to work Monday through Friday, replaced by volunteers on Saturday, but at my location no one volunteered during the hours I work (1 to 7 pm.). I’m happy to make the extra money, but boy does it keep me busy! When I’m not at work or commuting to and from, it amazes me how much time just preparing Christmas letters and cards takes. Not to mention all the time (and money) it took to get enough warm clothes to get me through freezing days. I wear ski pants every day, two wool sweaters, two warm hats under my Santa cap, and more layers than that under my wool coat. A lot of people say, “You picked a cold day to do this!” or “You must be freezing!” Some nights I nearly am, but other times I’m hot in all those layers. I look at these people, dressed as if for summer, and I wonder how they can stand just walking in and out of the store. Some say, “You should be inside!” I don’t belong inside; I would bake in my layers, I wouldn’t be able to sing, and I probably couldn’t ring, either.
I have to carry a lot with me on the bus to work including a full thermos, a lunch to eat just before I start, a cozy blanket for when I am sitting on the colder days, toe and hand warmers, you name it. So I don’t take a book. I am used to reading on the bus. Ergo, I’m not getting my reading done. And—here’s where the real confession comes in—although I have no excuse about weight or volume at home, I have hardly read my Bible since I started the job this season. Normally I read some nearly every morning with breakfast. Now at that meal, I pore over my schedule book, address Christmas cards, make phone calls, whatever else I feel I need to do. I feel like the biblical Martha, a human doing rather than a human being, when I’m at home doing all these tasks. Only last Saturday and Sunday did I slow down. I found play even more necessary than sleep last night. I dinked around on the computer until about 4 in the morning, although I had to get up at 6:30 to get ready for church. Then, I brought a book on the bus, Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power Of Positive Thinking. And I actually read! I read about the importance of taking time to relax and to read some Bible.
The human being is alive from the depths of her heart at the kettle. My church has no choir, and I haven’t played my guitar in a long time; I lack the motivation to take up those songs I wrote long ago or write new ones when the guitar playing has become so rusty. But at the kettle, the person I most entertain is myself. What I lack in Bible reading, I make up for in worship. When the only reading I do is the lyrics in my song folder, I’m in my element. Some of the songs even make me cry—which is bad for singing, let me tell you. And my range is sometimes lacking, especially earlier in the day. Although “O Holy Night” is practically everyone’s favorite, I won’t attempt it before dark. But I can sing “I Want a Hippopotamus” anytime. “The Grinch Song” I don’t usually attempt because I’m afraid passersby might think I’m saying all those despicable things about them. Anyway, you get the idea.
If you want to read some of my reflections about Christmas songs, go to http://robinlayne.hubpages.com/hub/Cr.... It also features a picture of me at the kettle and a video of me singing my “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” verses … complete with my daughter’s cat on my lap—until he, like my audience in front of the store, rushes off to other business.
Another confession: I did bring my draft of this post with me on the bus to edit. But since it’s not a book, it doesn’t really count as “reading,” does it? Just as writing short things like this while ignoring my novel-in-progress doesn’t count as “writing.”
The reason I have time to post this now is that my body very radically told me to take a break: The ankle I sprained prior to the beginning of my job acted up today and I had to skip working on what might be one of the best-yielding days of the season (the Saturday before Christmas). And if it’s not the ankle, it’s a knee. At least there were two volunteers today, from 10 to noon and from noon to 2.
I’d already arranged for a friend to pick up my Christmas food box today. Can you hazard a guess as to the source of this gift? Yep. The Salvation Army. Better than the food, to my mind, was flyer with a new rendition of the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
As above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals,
Keep us forgiven with you
And forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the evil one.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
AMEN
Okay . . . When it’s that potent a message, it doesn’t have to be a portion of a book. It counts as reading.
I will post a picture of myself at the kettle from a few years back in my Photos section.
I urge you also to “do the most good” in all your endeavors both during this season and all year long.
Merry Christmas to all, to all a good night, and peace through 2014!
From the Red, Read Robin
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