More about that age thing

What I'm reading: Hit Parade, by Lawrence Block

What I'm writing: Chapter Three -- again or still, depending on what I decide.

Yesterday, only half on a whim, I decided to get a new cell phone. I never wanted to be totally connected. As a matter of fact, time away from the phone and the internet can be golden, so most of the time my cell isn't even on. I use it 95% for long distance calls because they're free, which is because I never come close to using my minutes. Mine roll over, but I roll off almost as many as I add each month. And I find people who are texting all the time to be rude. I was at a writer's conference banquet, and during the keynote, people at my table were busy texting. (I hope not each other!). But, I got a phone that is connected to the Internet, and as far as I'm concerned, with all the stuff it does, it ought to at least do the laundry or make coffee, but I guess I didn't go high-end enough. I stuck to a mid-range phone. On sale. With rebate. It does have a nifty qwerty keyboard in case I want to be rude the next time I'm at a banquet.

Trying to decipher the 40 page "quick start" guide (Making A Call was on page 10!) made me feel more than tech-challenged. Finding where to plug the charger was enough of a setback. How was I supposed to see that slot when it has a cover on it? And testing the dreaded texting feature. I could get it to fill in the "To" field, but nothing I did seemed to move the cursor into the box to write the message. The instructions and the on-line tutorial (like, since when do you have to go on line to learn how to use a PHONE?) simply said, 'fill in the "To" field, then type your message. HELLO. There's another step in there. Eventually, like all those monkeys typing Shakespeare, I hit the right button. Probably won't be able to do it ever again.

Then I thought I'd try to give my husband his own private ringtone so I wouldn't have to check the display if I was driving. Nothing in the quick start mentioned it. Nothing in the tutorial mentioned it. I downloaded the 350+ page manual and found the instructions on page 76. I followed them (after finding out they invented an OK button that nothing else mentioned), and they didn't work. To prove I wasn't totally inept, I did manage to follow the steps to add speed dial numbers (and why do they call it dialing?) Then I tried another feature -- Voice. I Pressed a button and told it to call someone. Lo and behold, it DID. Scary.

I finally found the list of ringtones in the phone and picked one. I dutifully registered my new purchase. They sent me a temporary password as a text message to my phone! This after I had to type my email four times. Of course, my phone was off, and in another room. If I told the computer I couldn't access my phone, the message said they'd snail mail me my password. What's wrong with email? I mean, I was on line doing all this stuff. So, I get the phone, find the message, type in the password (no cut and paste from a phone to a computer), and then the next computer screen tells me to change the password before I can access my new account. I do, and my reward for this is a Free Ringtone. Woo Woo.

Accessing the ring tone means installing some new software, which, error messages to the contrary, seems to work, so I look at my choices for ring tones. I chose the Songs Everyone Knows list. There were 45 songs on the list. I recognized 7 of them by title. Could probably hum about 4. Nothing like feeling old and out of touch. I think I'll continue my policy of not giving anyone my cell phone number. I'm not sure I could figure out how to answer it before it rolls to voice mail, and I KNOW I haven't figured that one out yet.

What's your take on flash backs and spoilers?

My husband graciously shared his head cold, and I'm being a total wimp and taking the day off. It's not even a bad cold, but yesterday my head was too foggy to write anything new. And to make matters worse, I think most of what I wrote the day before falls too far into "info dump" category. I'll wait until my head clears enough to read it critically and decide if it's one of those scenes that would better be handled with a brief flashback. My problem is, I don't like flashing back, even a day or two. And since my hero and heroine are still unaware of each other, I'm trying to keep their timelines parallel. I might have inserted that Fozzie scene simply to avoid having too much Torie.

It's the story that matters, though, not how long the scenes are, or how long between POV changes. So that means the dreaded plotting, and my head can't wrap itself around that yet. I plan to finish Hit List, then watch some of the French Open. And try not to feel guilty.

The other thing that's been niggling at me is spoilers. I think I'm probably overly anal about not knowing what happens until it happens. But other people don't seem to mind. I'm astonished to learn that people actually read the end of the book first to see whodunit, or to make sure there's the right HEA. I can't do that. Most of the time, I'll stop reading a book once it's clear 'stuff happened' to those characters before and go back to book 1.

That being said, I wrote a funny fluff piece where my FINDING SARAH characters talked about me. Since I'm always throwing them into the fire, I let them tell me how they felt about it. "The Other Side" looks at me through their eyes.

If anyone wants it, send me an email (contact link to the right) with "Other Side, Please" in the subject line and I'll send it to you. I'm not posting it here, just in case there's anyone else out there who's as anal as I am about spoilers. If you've already read FINDING SARAH, it won't pose any problems.

Do you know what the Group W Bench is?

During blog rounds this morning, I found a fascinating discussion on getting old. Considering I'm probably decades older than most of the people lamenting their lost youth at the site, I've been following the 'defining moments' they're listing as the point at which they left their youth behind. It's been fun, so I'll admit to borrowing the theme.

Hearing their favorite songs on the oldies station.
OK, I can beat that. What about having your kids tell you about a great "new" song, and you can sing along because it's merely a remake?
Do they realize Paul McCartney was in a group before "Wings"?

Finding the first gray hair.
Been there, done that, hit the salon (see yesterday's post).

Not recognizing a line from Ferris Bueller.
What about the Group W Bench? Please tell me I'm not the only one left on the planet who knows what that means.

If I remember these (or the lack thereof) am I old?

Rotary dial phones. No area codes.

No zip codes.

Television was black and white (once we got one)

Mixing the color into margarine.

No home computers.

No cell phones.

No credit cards – stores had "Charge-a-Plates" with different notches for different stores.

"Your Hit Parade" and "Sing along with Mitch" instead of MTV.

Since I had to give a 'defining moment myself, I searched my failing memory banks and decided this would probably be it:

Although I don't really consider myself "old", I did get a bit of a jolt when my son took me to a UCLA game. Now, I'm a Bruin, and was at the school when the team never lost a game, so I figured it would be fun. Only for some reason, they let all these children go to college now. Back when I was there (and sitting in the section behind the broadcast 'booth' where Dick Enberg, the "Voice of the Bruins" did commentary), everyone at the game was MY age.

I guess some people are more sensitive to passing years. My mother refused to tell anyone WHY I was home for a visit when I went to my 20th high school reunion. No kid of hers would be old enough to be out of high school for 20 years. When she became a great grandmother a few months ago, the title didn't bother her as much as dealing with the fact that her daughter was a grandmother. It didn't bother me. I play CCR for the baby along with singing "On Top of Spaghetti". He responds pretty much the same way to both. But you can be sure he'll grow up knowing what the Group W Bench is.

For me, getting older sure beats the alternative. And nobody said I had to grow up.

So -- if you know what the Group W bench is, leave a comment!

A matter of trust

I've been seeing Richard for over 15 years now, I think, and I realize that I have total trust in the man. I know I can walk into his place, and after the usual hugs and "how are you's", I can let him do whatever he wants. Sometimes I'll tell him I'm ready for something new and different, and we might discuss it for a while, but most of the time, I let him do his thing.

Yesterday, I mentioned that the weather has hit hotandhumid again, and from his knowing smile, I knew he'd already figured out where he was going.

Sure, sometimes we've argued a little about his visions. It usually goes like this:

Richard: "But it's sexy that way."

Me: "I"m too old for sexy."

Richard: "No you're not."

Me: "I don't care about sexy if it's going to drive me nuts."

He sighs and we generally find a compromise.

So, yesterday, with complete faith that he'd do what was best, I sat in his chair. He did the thing with the plastic, towels and cape, and I opened my book, knowing I didn't need to worry. I knew that when he was finished, I'd be able to walk out and feel good about myself.

I think we get along because he's the only hair stylist I've ever been to who looks at me instead of giving me haircut number three. He'll point to a picture in one of his styling magazines and tell me what about it would work with my bone structure and hair texture. And if I have something I want to try, he'll tell me why it won't work.

We'll look through the color swatches and he'll say, 'something between this one and that one, with a little of this other one.'

I trust him. (And he gives me chocolate.)

So, I have an updated summer cut now. Shorter in back, fits my 'no more than five minutes with the dryer' request. And, per my insistence, the bangs are shorter than he wants them, because even though he says brushing them out of my eyes is sexy, it drives me nuts.

How do you plot?

What I'm reading: Hit List, by Lawrence Block

What I'm writing: Fozzie's book, Chapter Three.

I managed to hit my word count goal yesterday even though I had to do some cutting to adjust for plot changes. Plot changes? Are you allowed to change the plot?

I'm definitely not a plotter in the traditional sense. That is, I can't lay out an entire book. Some authors do, and they'd be lost without their roadmap, or outline, or synposis. I'm in as much awe of them as I'm sure they're in awe of authors who simply plunge in.

But I don't think anyone 'doesn't plot'. It's a matter of process. For me, it entails getting to know my characters. I don't do those detailed biographies, but I do like to know enough about the family history (after all, I might want to write another book about the hero's brother or sister some day, so it helps to know if there are any siblings.) And I want to know the bare bones about the emotional state of their childhoods. Did they come from wealth? Poverty? Were they loved? Abused? That lets me know what kind of conflicts I get to throw at them, and also how they're likely to react in any given situation.

Because I've been writing about a team of covert operatives who work for a private firm, I've started each book with a scene showing them 'in action'. Showing the hero in real life fits in with the "Hero's Journey", and it also shows the reader what the character is capable of. Would anyone have "bought" that Indiana Jones could do all that heroic stuff if the movie had opened in the classroom instead of the jungle?

But my heroes are "comfortable" doing hostage rescue. It's civilization that gives them the willies. Naturally, that's where the book has to go. So, after tossing out possibilities all day with my daughter, we got the book "plotted" to a point. And that point was Page One. Who's the hero? Who's the heroine? How will they hook up? (still working on that one!). And what's the plot payoff? The romance part is a given -- has to be a HEA or it's not a romance. But what choices will my characters make along the way. And, to quote Deb Dixon, the choices have to be between 'sucky' and 'suckier'.

And those are the things I love to discover as I go along.

From there, I do a lot of 'head writing.' Nothing on the page, but lots of wandering through the house, driving, doing laundry, shopping, all the while listening to my characters and dealing with the 'what if' scenarios. Is it plotting if it's not on paper? I say yes.

Driving through history

Our NY trip last weekend took us through Waterloo, New York, where the town was preparing for Memorial Day. At the time, it was merely one of those, "hmmm...look at that" moments, because of everything else we were dealing with.

However, today, our thoughts should go beyond our immediate and personal concerns.

Thanks to all who have served in the name of freedom, and to those who still put themselves in harm's way. .

Can writers read for pleasure?

What I'm reading: Dead Silence by Brenda Novak

What I'm writing: Fozzie's book, Chapter 2

Since I'm back at intensive writing, and doing crits for my group, I find my reading for pleasure moves deeper into edit mode as well.

Most of these things have no effect on plot or storytelling, but they're things that slow my read. I wonder if anyone else notices or even cares.

I don't begin to consider myself a grammar guru, although I had a lot of basics pounded into my head by Miss Cook in junior high, and Mr. Holtby in high school. Lately, I've noticed that some of these lessons don't seem to matter anymore. Or else copy editors had different teachers. Our language is fluid, and constantly changing (my agent said the comma before "too" is no longer required and made me remove all of them which still waves red flags for me), so I wonder if there are other memos I've missed.

One 'rule' I learned is that two things can be compared, but in order to use the superlative it was absolutely required that there be three. When one of my writing partners critiqued a recent sub, she flagged the chair "nearer" the wall and said it should be nearest. I said there were only two chairs, so "nearer" should be correct. She said she'd never heard of that rule.

When I was in school, this is what we learned, and the way I still remember it:

Good, Better, Best. You can't have the best of two, or there will be red marks on your paper. So when I noticed a character talking about his youngest child, I assumed there would be at least three kids, and I kept waiting for a middle sibling to appear. But no, there were only two, and one was the youngest and one was the oldest.

And people are 'who', things are 'that'. So when I see "The man that was arrested" or, "the dog who ran away," my teeth clench.

Granted, these things don't affect the plot. But to me, I'm seeing those big red marks on the page and am pulled out of the story.

On a non-grammar note, research is another pet peeve. I don't know a lot, so when I see something I do know, I wonder why an author didn't take the time, or the copy editor let it slide. Number one biggie, because of my preferred genre, is characters who carry Gocks, yet click the safety off or on. Glocks just plain don't work that way. And revolvers don't have safeties either.

So, any other pet peeves, or am I the only one who even notices these things? Do you read differently as a writer? Can you turn off that internal editor?

Last night's DUI checkpoint.

Rain. More rain. Although the area is in a drought and the rain is much-needed, it quashed most of the DUI checkpoint action. Too many safety issues, so the supervisor called it off after about 2 hours. During that time, he'd had to call off the line four times. However, as a civilian observer, it was still fascinating.

Law enforcement officers from all over central Florida volunteered to take part. County sheriffs, highway patrol, local city police. Everything was planned and organized, and this time we were part of the initial briefing with the LEOs, so we got to hear their instructions rather than the 'stay out of the way' basics we'd had the last time. There was a gang member contact and a drug dog for those who might need them. Translators were available. The officers were also given the 'official' language of approaching drivers so that any arrests would stand up in court.

And, as the supervisor said, they mostly catch the stupid ones. The checkpoint is announced well in advance, yet people with suspended licenses, drugs, vehicle safety issues as well as those who have been drinking don't detour around it.

At 9 PM, all northbound traffic was funneled into the left traffic lane. Every car was stopped, and every driver was greeted with a polite variation on , "Hi, I'm Officer XX with the XX. We're doing a safety check. May I see your license, please?" One officer checked the license and the other walked around the car looking for bald tires, faulty lights, etc. If there were problems of any sort (one driver simply stuck his hands out the window, ready to be cuffed, since he was driving on a suspended license), the cars were moved to the right hand lanes and the officers took care of whatever needed to be done. There were table set up for booking, vans to take prisoners to the jail, the BAT (breath analyzer testing) Mobile, and, of course, tables of food. Our invitation to be allowed to watch included donating desserts. But there was a lot more, and because of the rain and people being called back inside, it disappeared faster than usual. The MADD coordinator on site was on the phone getting more donations of pizza by ten PM. However, the desserts were still plentiful. We volunteers know how to fill a food table.

Even in the short times the line was operational, a lot of cars were pulled out for violations. As I said before, some people are stupid, driving through a police checkpoint with drugs and alcohol in plain sight, or plain smell. And why not buckle your seatbelt? There are 'click it or ticket' signs and ads all over the place. Oh, yeah. They catch mostly the stupid folks.

Considering all the effort put into coordinating this event, it's a shame they couldn't have had better weather. But the officers were all friendly, and tolerated my questions when things were slow. I learned that the big case behind the motorcycle holds the officer's laptop. And that they have PDAs for writing tickets. And that they're not all well-versed in firearms. One officer I spoke to had been with the police explorers since the age of 14, then in the auxiliary, then moved to Florida and went through the academy. He knows how to shoot his gun, how to clear it and clean it, but he said he wouldn't recognize the make and model of anything other than the Glock he carries. (Which is one reason most departments require all officers to carry the same kind of weapon—in case they need to use another officer's gun, they'll know how it works).

All in all, an interesting and informative evening. Too bad the cops couldn't get more impaired drivers off the road, or at least give them a wake up call.

Friday Followups

What I'm reading: No One Left to Tell, by Jordan Dane

What I'm working on: Revised Chapter 1, scene 2 of Fozzie's book.

Bits and pieces:

Handyman Lane
The handyman company sent a different worker (a guy, this time) to do the final fix-ups. He's a professional painter, and he tells me the original crew did not do what they contracted, and did a poor job overall. Seems that when we opted out of the orange peel finish, they should have put a skim coat on the walls and primed them. I guess I'll call the company and see if there's a financial adjustment, because I sure as heck am not going to sit through all the painting again. Meanwhile, the guy promises to do what he can to touch up some of the holidays, and he'll mount the wall mirror and hook correctly this time.

Character names -- while on the flight to Syracuse, I looked in my seat pocket and found the boarding pass of whoever sat there on the previous flight. "Rhys Ainsworthy". Gotta use that in a book someday. And who do you 'see' belonging to that name?

Back story
Yesterday, I devoted most of my time to hunkering down with the new WIP. Since I'd brainstormed many of the plot points with my daughter, it was "simply" a matter of putting the words on the page to show it. But it does raise the issue of 'how much back story does the reader need?' I now know almost everything about my heroine's (Torie at the moment) past. But putting it front and center will only slow the pace. Still, the reader has to have a reason to care about a character, and in the early pages of the book, readers are still getting a handle on who's who. Does a reader want to know all about Torie's childhood? I don't think so. Not now, anyway.

I also brought in a new character or two--it's easier to deal with exposition if you can show it in scene rather than using long passages of interior monologue or narrative. I try to limit myself to no more than 2 or 3 short paragraphs when I'm dealing with back story. This means my heroine's best friend gets to live a little longer, because I needed her around to explain what the heck the characters are doing there in the first place.

Another pitfall is the Maid-Butler (or As You Know Bob) dialog. Two people who know what's happening don't talk about the details, or 'spell out' definitions. Cops know what AFIS and CODIS are. It's always easier to have a lay person on scene, so the pros can (patiently) explain what they've just said.

Also, another pebble in the road. One of the new characters is a guy--but he's not the hero. Readers of romance want to get a handle on h/h as soon as possible. I didn't have a clue about this expectation (there are no rules) when I wrote Finding Sarah and actually introduced a non-hero as the first male on the page. It worked, but I had a lot of questions during the draft process. Heck, Allison Brennan killed one of the "very likely the hero' characters halfway through the book.

Back to routine

With everyone safe at home again, and the laundry done, it's time to get back to "work."

Allison Brennan posted an interesting column on Murder She Writes, about how long it takes her to write a book. She brought up the point, "what counts as writing time?"

I'm still working on the early stages of my next book, and although I've decided that it will feature Foster Mayhew, who was first introduced as a walk-on in When Danger Calls, (due in December from Five Star Expressions) and had a more substantial secondary character appearance or two in the yet unsold Where Danger Hides, I really didn't know where the book might lead him -- or, as is more often the case, where he might lead the book.

I did have to listen to him as he told me about his childhood in Australia. Once I knew his deep, dark secret fear, I knew what made him tick. Of course, that means I know what horrible things I'm going to have to do with him, both to make him confront the reality of those fears, but also to give him the emotional growth he'll need to have a meaningful relationship with someone.

With who? was the next question. Not an obvious match, to be sure.

My daughter was visiting from Ireland, and we spent the better part of a day and lots of peripheral time brainstorming who the characters in the book would be. We worked with Deb Dixon's GMC approach, and I made copies of the character grids from the Story Magic workshop I'd taken.

To this point, I'd written about 4500 words. We looked at what was on the page, decided where things should be tweaked to fit the new insights into the characters -- and decided that a secondary character was already getting too interesting by page 10, so she's likely to meet an untimely demise. This book is also the first where I'm toying with the idea of moving into more than the h/h POVs. That would make it more suspense, but that might be what the story demands, rather than the mystery puzzles I've written for my Cerridwen books.

So, it's been a very low word-per-day count, yet I've done a lot of 'writing'. It's not just fingers to keyboard that counts. The ideas and the characters have to be there, and sometimes, just wandering through the house listening to them is as productive as sitting at the computer.

Tomorrow night, my husband and I will be observing another all-night DUI checkpoint. I'll be sure to let you know what happens. I have to think of something to bring for dessert -- I have a hunch that's why the Civilian Police Academy Alumni are invited.