Category: GKP Writing News

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GKP Writing News

Foraging the Ozarks

I am not much of a forager. However, the Carduan Chronicles is forcing me to learn more about foraging. One book to read is “Foraging the Ozarks” by Bo Brown.

Ozark Survival

One of the ships in the Carduan Chronicles lands in a Ozark ravine. Those on board are stranded and must learn to live on this strange, new planet.

An immediate need is food. The Carduans must discover which plants growing wild in a ravine and old pasture are edible and which parts of the plants taste good.

Dandelions food on Carduan world
One of the first edible plants easy to find in the spring is the dandelion. Although it is an import from Europe and occasional near creeks and pasture edges, it could be found by the Carduans. Both the flowers and leaves are edible. The root can be roasted and used for a coffee substitute.

As a Writer

I am a gardener, not a forager. Many years ago I wrote a Nature Note column for a local paper and met an old woman who had grown up foraging. She introduced me to several so-called weeds that were good to eat.

Most of these plants were brought over from Europe and grow wild. But they prefer disturbed places like gardens and lawns. They are rarely found out on the hills and in the ravines.

Most foraging books focus on these common plants. I needed to learn about the others. “Foraging the Ozarks” is a book including many of these other plants.

amazing pawpaw cluster
One of my favorite wild edible is the pawpaw in late summer/early fall. Unfortunately for the Carduans, the pawpaw is a tree. However, sometimes the ripe fruits aren’t eaten before they fall to the ground.

The Next Step

It’s fine to read about these edible plants. The problem is that I must rely on someone else’s opinion about them.

This leaves me looking for and taste testing these wild plants. I’ve found many of them before taking pictures for my Dent count Flora project. Now I’m looking them up again to take a nibble of leaves and fruit. Many do have edible roots, but I hate to dig the plants up.

A final consideration is the size of the plants. The Carduans are only four inches tall. Trees might present very big problems for them.

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Finding Plot Holes

Finding plot holes is such a mess. A main character in Life’s rules has a birthday including family party. Except it never happened. Oops.

This is where a good plot outline would help, I suppose. Or maybe not. Sarah’s birthday wasn’t really part of the plot originally.

Finding Plot Holes

I write from a list of bullet points. These are a rough idea of what the plot looks like, but doesn’t really add any details.

None of these points is definite. Some get ignored. Others get added as the plot takes shape in the rough draft.

In Life’s Rules, there are several subplots. Some of these are being eliminated. Others are being expanded on. Keeping track of them is complicated especially as spring brings so many other activities fragmenting my writing time.

My method to keep track of them and find problems is to make an outline as I rewrite the rough draft. It’s not a formal outline, just a list of day events as the novel unfolds in days.

Another Outline

There are many characters in Life’s Rules. Some are families. Parents, spouses, children, grandchildren all need names and an outline of relationships.

Each also needs a few details about each character. The ages, grades and interests of the grandchildren are important.

I didn’t do this outline once. One of the characters changed names over the course of the novel. Catching this mistake luckily happened before the final draft.

cover for "Dora's Story" by Karen GoatKeeper
This story too had a massive plot hole in it. It took several outlines to finally get the plot and timing done correctly.

After Finding Plot Holes

Once a plot hole is spotted, the rewrite begins. Since this particular hole is a major problem, the rewrite is like writing a new rough draft at this point until the other events can be placed on new days.

The frustrating part of this is how I keep rambling on with text full of goings on. Each has a bearing on the main plot, but one goal of this rewrite was to cut the word count, not add to it.

So, I now get to do another rewrite after finishing this one to try again to shorten this massive story.

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Writing Unknowns

One of the big annoyances in reading is looking through a book about a familiar subject only to find the author didn’t really know the subject. The book, often part of a series, was written by a freelance writer from research. They were writing unknowns.

Two Nubian goats are loud
Dairy goats have their horns disbudded so they don’t grow. This is safer for the goats and the goat owner. Rose and Drucilla aren’t show goats, but they don’t look like the common caricatures many people draw of goats.

Examples

The library shelved a picture book on goats. Of course, I checked it out. The text was suitable for a picture book. The pictures were sharp and clear. Except the goats.- dairy goats! -in the pictures had horns.

Anyone familiar with dairy goats knows breeders disbud their kids. Horned dairy goats aren’t shown or, if they are, have lots of lost points because of the horns. This goes back decades as dairy goat owners wanted a positive picture of their beautiful goats, not a billy goat gruff caricature.

My friend owned an old John Deere tractor for years. Reading through a book on such tractors no mention was made of a quirk of such tractors. The writer had never owned a tractor and it showed.

Writing Unknowns in Life’s Rules

I have no Facebook account for several reasons. I’m not online at home and don’t have a cell phone. Rural Missouri has reception issues and the hills surrounding my house compound them.

In Life’s Rules, the main character Stephanie must get an email account, a Facebook account, a credit card. She goes to places I’ve never been. She speaks languages I have little familiarity with. I am writing unknowns.

This is when a writer must depend on others to look over the draft. Is the description right? Are the conversations right? Should the names be changed?

In the meantime, I am writing unknowns trying to sound like I know what I’m writing about. After all, I need a draft for others to look over.

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Are You Obsolete?

I’ve been collecting books for decades. Many of them wound interesting, but I’ve never found time to read them. One of these came off the shelf the other day and made me think ‘Are you obsolete?’ about these posts.

Internet Writing

Millions of people write on the internet. Their topics are almost anything you can think of.

I’ve been posting to a website for over ten years. My topics have been on nature, hiking, science, goats and my books.

If the writers could go back and read something they wrote many years ago, what would they think about it?

John Gould

Back in the late 1940s to 1950s, John Gould wrote short topics that were published in newspapers, magazines and books. The book I read was “Neither Hay Nor Grass” published in 1951.

Gould lived in rural Maine. He wrote about living there, the people he knew, things that happened. This sounds a lot like internet posts of today.

One of the reasons I read this book was to find out more about the times it was written in. It certainly did that.

Gould’s wife was mentioned several times. Usually the mention was about her wonderful cooking. His daughter was to learn this.

Education was not very important. Rural ways and values were more important.

cover for "Broken Promises" by Karen GoatKeeper
I wrote this novel using the events of 2008. Do you remember that year? That was the beginning of the Great Recession when the stock market had a meltdown. It refers to a big Ponzi scheme that unraveled then. Is this trilogy now obsolete?

Are You Obsolete?

Gould was writing about a world about to see major changes. Most people would cut their ties to the land and become urban. Women would be able to be more than housewives and cooks.

Jobs were becoming more demanding, requiring better educations. Pollution was about to be confronted as “Silent Spring” was published.

My conclusion is that I am obsolete and many of my posts are not even close to mainstream. I may have grown up urban, but I’ve become rural to a great extent.

Will I change? No. My posts reflect my lifestyle. I can’t write about urban topics as I haven’t been in the big cities for decades.

Perhaps other internet writers and authors should ask themselves ‘Are you obsolete?” An honest answer might change what they write. Or it might not.

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About Picture Books

I’ve published three picture books and have a series in mind. Still, I don’t know that much about picture books.

Reading

One way to learn is by reading picture books. I’ve always liked to browse through them, rarely listing them on my reading list. There are so many good ones, I wanted to share those I’d read.

My Goodreads blog was a way to do this. I now read and review four to six picture books from my library weekly on my blog.

Another reason for reading so many of these books is to see the range of text and illustrations in them. Ones I’ve read run from ones with only pictures to one with no pictures at all.

The illustrations can be highly detailed, elaborate ones to those looking like museum paintings to casual comic book images. They can be painted, collages, line drawings, photographs or combinations.

My preference is watercolor. Recently I read a book about Tasha Tudor (“The Private World of Tasha Tudor”) and have requested some of her books. She uses watercolor and the images I saw in the book are highly detailed which takes great skill with watercolor.

cover of "For Love of Goats" by Karen GoatKeeper
Although people usually think of illustrated books as picture books for young readers, they can be for any age. “For Love of Goats” is illustrated, but is for older people who love the sounds of words and goats.

Research

Another way to learn about picture books is to read books about how to create them. I am reading one now (“Writing With Pictures”).

The basic steps are what I already knew. This book is expanding on these, adding details and suggestions.

Planning and Implementing

There are a few sketches done now for my Agate and Opal series about two adventurous Nubian kids. As I look these over and consider others for these first two books, one about Opal and one about Agate, introducing them, I’m using the knowledge I’ve gained.

First off, my sketches don’t need to be perfect. This is hard for me as I constantly fight the mantra of not good enough. They only need to be true to my Nubian goat kids.

Secondly, I want to do a picture book series, not illustrated stories. That changes how I will do my text. The pictures tell the story. Text only adds a few bits of information.

Most of the text will be reserved for the information page at the end.

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Writing Demons

No, I haven’t decided to try writing a horror story. My writing demons aren’t part of a story. Instead, they do their best to destroy my stories.

Most writers have these naysayers lying in wait in their heads. They wait until the writer is tired or having plot problems or is trying to rewrite a draft. Then they pounce.

Writing Demons

Your story is lame. It’s rubbish. No one in their right mind would want to read this garbage.

This story is boring. Writing is a waste of time. The methods are endless, but all have the goal of making a writer give up.

Coping With Demons

Nothing gets rid of these naysayers. Their roots go back too far.

Coping begins with taking care to get enough sleep as these demons feed on fatigue. Not forgetting to eat healthy foods on time so the stomach doesn’t invite them in helps too.

Having a good friend or two to admire a story helps. This is true even if you know the friend would say the story is good regardless.

Another method is to tell the naysayers to go away. You know they are lying to you and choose to ignore them.

cover for "Capri Capers" by Karen GoatKeeper
I think this is the only book I’ve written free from my writing demons. Perhaps they got fooled as I wrote this book just for fun, not taking it seriously until after it was done.

The Final Strategy

The writing demons will visit whenever they think your defenses are down. Beating them can be hard.

Stubbornness and persistence are the last and most effective strategies. The writer must just ignore the demons, sit down and write.

If the words that day aren’t that great, so what? Rewriting and editing will fix that.

The book is aching to get finished. There is only one way to finish it: keep writing.

Life’s Rules

I’ve started rewriting this novel. The demons are lurking.

So far the lines include: the novel is too long; there isn’t enough action; there is too much backstory put into the first chapter.

The first is true and rewrite should trim several thousand words. Maybe there isn’t enough action, but this isn’t an action novel. This is a novel about a woman getting old, being dissatisfied with her life and trying to change.

And that’s another way to cope with the writing demons. Listen to and evaluate what they are saying. Some of it may improve the story.

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Setting Writing Deadlines

This year has been very disappointing for my writing. No new books were finished. This isn’t because I didn’t have books to work on – there are six of them. Perhaps setting writing deadlines will get some of these finished.

Word Counts Won’t Work

Out of the six books, three have rough drafts mostly done, two are picture books with the text done leaving only one needing a draft written. Rewriting isn’t new writing with word counts. Setting writing deadlines will entail chapters, not words.

Even more, setting writing deadlines can be publishing times. I want to finish Life’s Rules by mid March for personal reasons. It needs rewriting, translations, ruthless cutting as it is far too long. It will be the primary focus now.

Once this book is done, I will return to “The Carduan Chronicles”. March is a good time to get back to Ship Nineteen as all the spring plants will be growing. Which are edible? Which would be easy for the crew to find and use? The draft may be written, but it needs a lot of setting work included in the rewrite.

“The Carduan Chronicles: Ship Eighteen” only needs the rewrite done. Even the current draft is close to final. The rewrite will be mostly an edit.

doing digital and print versions requires a title page
Several more chemistry teaching units are written. Some of the investigations need redoing. The stories aren’t written yet. Writing takes so much time.

Setting Writing Deadlines

I would like the first two books of “The Carduan Chronicles” ready to publish this fall. They do have one problem: the third book. It is little more than a list of bullet points right now.

There are other writing projects to slip into any free moment. There are two website posts to write every week. Goodreads gets at least four picture book reviews every week. There should be three book reviews every two weeks to reach my goal of 70 books read over the year. And there is a book review for my local public library every month.

If I want to stress out, I can add illustrations for the two picture books and chemistry teaching units. There is the picture book writing workshop planned for the summer.

The New Year will be busy.

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GKP Writing News

Laundromat 101 Hints

Although “At the Laundromat” is a picture book, many adults would benefit reading it too. This slender volume is a short course in Laundromat 101 or laundromat basics.

Laundromat 101 reminder to check pockets
It’s amazing what people leave in their pockets when they toss the clothes into the washing machine. Many times these are left behind in the laundromat machines.

Hint 1: Empty Your Pockets

One of the first things I do when I clean the machines in the laundromat is to check inside them. Since all of the washing machines are front loaders, this means turning the drums so anything left behind falls down making them easy to find.

This doesn’t always work as carpenters of DIY builders sometimes leave nails and screws in their pockets. These get caught in the holes in the drum and must be pulled out.

More commonly pocket contents such as keys, rings, earrings, money, lighters fall down. Then there are the socks. The machines really do eat your missing socks, but only because you didn’t look for them.

cover for "At the Laundromat" by Karen GoatKeeper
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Writing Character Motivations

When I look at these various lost items, I reflect about what their loss can mean. Most items are things the owner would find annoying, but not a problem. What about house keys? Car keys? Engagement rings? The week’s budget money?

Would the character panic? How did the character drive home without their car keys? Maybe the character never locks the front door so losing the front door key isn’t important? Perhaps the character makes enough money so losing shat to others is a lot of money isn’t to them.

It’s so easy writing to write as though every character reacts the way we do. For a good writer, that is not true. Every character has their own motivation, their own reaction to events in the novel.

This is one of the big challenges in writing. The author must set aside their own reactions and become, in a small measure, the character so their reactions and actions ring true. They are not clones, but independent characters.

Laundromat 101 Hints

First, check your pockets before tossing those clothes into the washer. Second, turn the drum after you take the clothes out. That last goes for the dryer too. You never know what might show up.

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Laundromat Repairs

Many people come into the laundromat because their home washer or dryer broke down. But the washers in the laundromat break down too needing laundromat repairs.

Simple Repairs

The easiest laundromat repairs aren’t really break downs. Sometimes people put in quarters too fast and they get stuck. Once these are taken out, the washer is fine.

Screws and nails caught in the drum or inside of the washer are another problem. Once these are pulled out, the washers are fine.

cover for "At the Laundromat" by Karen GoatKeeper
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Drain Problems

When a washer won’t drain, clothes are wet, really wet, drippy wet. Most of the time the problem is an underwire bra wire caught across the drain and covered with lint. This requires opening up the drain and removing the wire.

One washer stopped draining. It wasn’t a wire. A repairman had to come. He found someone had washed a rubber backed rug in the machine. The rug must have been old so the rubber came apart into little balls.

The balls formed a big, solid clog in the drain. It required breaking the clog up and removing it piece by piece.

Old dog beds with broken seams will do much the same thing as the stuffing comes out in the wash. One time it stopped the biggest washer completely as the space between the washer drum and the drain drum filled completely up. It took a long time to pull all of the stuffing out.

Washers need laundromat repairs
Lots of people use the washers at the laundromat. As the machines get older, parts wear out and need repair. This is from “At the Laundromat”.

Wearing Out

Even the expensive laundromat washers wear out. The repairman checked out a washer that wouldn’t work and found it needed new parts.

When the washer drums spin, they move. Just like in a car, these drums have shock absorbers. There are four attached to the washer drum and two had worn out.

The washer must be taken out, opened up and the absorbers replaced. Then the washer is put back into place. Once the drain is reattached, the washer is ready for the next customer.

Laundromat repairs are needed often to keep all of the washers and dryers working properly. Usually the repairs are simple. The more complex ones are interesting to watch as the machine is opened up showing how the machine works.

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Laundromats

Laundromats are familiar places to me and have been much of my life. I’m surprised, although I shouldn’t be, at how many people come into the laundromat for the first time in their lives.

Remembering

My family went camping a lot. We had a big, canvas tent and went to lots of places in California.

We would pick up food at the grocery store. Then we ate lunch in a laundromat while our clothes washed and dried. If it was raining, we would linger for a time.

Time Savers

Laundromats are great time savers. All the clothes get washed at once, dried and folded, ready to put away.

One place had laundry service. The woman was an expert at getting clothes clean, much better than I will ever be. We were working full time and having her do our laundry was so convenient.

cover for "At the Laundromat" by Karen GoatKeeper
Perhaps you suddenly need to use a laundromat. This little picture book will give you some hints as well as glimpses of behind the scenes.

Practical

With only two of us, the laundry doesn’t pile up that much in a week. When I had a washer, it took longer to put all the items left on top of it all week away than it took to wash the clothes. Laundromats are easier.

There are several sizes of washers for regular clothes or for big items like comforters. The same is true for dryers.

I estimate it would take me over two years to spend as much at the laundromat as to buy a washer. And the laundromat owner fixes any problems, not an expensive repairman.

Work

When the local laundromat opened, I became a regular. I would take a book and relax while the machines cleaned my clothes.

Then I was offered a chance to clean the laundromat when I was there. This paid for my wash.

Cleaning usually isn’t hard. Check inside all the machines, Clean off the lint traps of the dryers. Wash spilled soap off the washers. Sweep the floor. Take out the trash.

The owners are great people. My picture book “At the Laundromat” was written especially for them.

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