WIP Wednesday: Writing Recycling (And My Weekend at a Glance)

Sooooo. Have ya ever recycled bits of one WIP to feed another WIP? I assume you have. This 'recycling' is often what sparked the new WIP in the first place. A scene or a character didnt quite fit the project you were working on, but you liked it. So you kept it like the treasure hunting magpie that writers are and at some point it began to germinate into it's own story.

But what about using a piece of WIP from a Fan Fiction you wrote? I know the disclaimer--the characters and the story do not belong to me....blah blah blah. But what if the story bit was out of story cannon or non-specific of the original characters created for the original work of fiction? It's your writing right???? Writers find inspiration in others works all the time, don't they?

It's a topic that has crossed my mind now and then. I was wondering if anyone else has come across a similar dilemma?

BTW, Napoli (pictured in his favorite hiding place--my grocery bags) say's "Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. And remember my cat treat."

Below is a bit from a Mentalist Fan Fiction I am hoping to recycle into my present WIP, Ghost Mountain. It would not be word for word do to the many differences in the characters and works, but the gist would be there.

"Just the slightest touch from him was beginning to feel like the biggest leap into the unknown. So many voices of reason and experience told her to take her hand away, but so much of what she needed—what she knew he needed, was allowing his fingers to entwine with her own and hold tight. She simply needed to trust…"

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As for this past week and weekend--and the reason I've been off the grid more than usual. Jim and I headed off to Cherry Springs PA, about 3 hours from our home in Ohio. Once again we enjoyed some camping, hiking, stargazing and a whole bunch of astrophotography (i.e. half our gear consisted of astronomy, computer and photography equipment).

We stayed from the 1st to the 6th. A long hall this time but worth the stay.

These are just a few images I took of our camp site on the astronomy field, the valley below our elevation (2,300 feet), and a few misc photo's including a engineered image my husband took of the Milky Way last trip.

photo by Jim Murray

And then, when we got home Monday, we unpacked some of our gear and headed off to the county fair...

Come one, come all! Welcome to the 164th year of the Canfield Fair!

For every year I have been alive I have gone to this mainstay of Mahoning County. One would think I'd tire of the giant pumpkins, row after row of animal barns, craft barns and exhibits, rides, funnel cakes and tractor pulls but alas I have not nor do I see this happening anytime soon.

The fair represents something to me--something pure and happy and unchanging in its way. And after 164 years, it is nostalgia of the very best sort for this country girl. And the best way to say so long to Summer and greet the Fall.


















































And these last few years, I have found a way to participate in this event. By entering the Fine Arts and Photography exhibit with my husband Jim.

My entries this year...


















I hope all of ya had a great Labor Day weekend and I'll type at ya Friday!

Sunday Sermon: Pick up those Pennies

"If you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It's that simple. What you see is what you get."

--Annie Dillard

How we use our time and opportunities has a great deal to do with how we perceive them. Make a meal of every crumb of time. Use it. Treasure it. Own this belief when tackling any WIP or life in general. MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME!!!!!!!

Dramatic? I have to be when reminding myself of important lessons I am stubborn learning. Let's see if we can all do better.

Just a quote that needed repeating (for me).

Weekend Recap: Cherry Springs and Star Things

As I may have mentioned, my husband and I are stargazers. From 13,803 feet at the tip top of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii to Cherry Springs astronomy field, we have seen some pretty sky.

The last two years we have added weekend camping trips to our stargazing repertoire. Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania has proven to be a perfect spot for us, in stargazing, in natural sites and in local charm with it's string of neighboring state parks and small lumber towns down and around Rte 66. This last weekend was our third trip into the wonderfully dark zoned heart of PA and I would have to say the best in weather (but not in bugs!!!). Jim is still working on his astro photos, but I do have one from a trip back. The Orion Nebula.
Here are a few other more earth bound pics to illustrate our experience...
Waiting for night to fall on the astronomy field.

Morning trip to PA's Grand Canyon. Popular amongst sightseers, hikers, bikers, horse and canoe tours.

A little local color.

City Boy meets nature and steps right in.

Country girl feeling at peace.

And some nature...

Sunday Sermon

I am a pensive dreamer this Sunday. Some hang on to their religion or other people when they begin to feel adrift or overwhelmed. I look to words and what I hope I have inside of me...

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” ---Dale Carnegie

I see fiction writers this way. I mean, where does it say that we will get published someday—or even finish our WIP? Even after all the time and the heart, brain, financial and emotional strain put upon our relationships due to our dedication to our WIP's, are we guaranteed success—our own “happy ending”.

But we keep doing it--we write. We write when it seems ludicrous to be doing so, when so many other things could be done—more productive and responsible things. But we write. And in the end it will be the “trying” Mr. Carnegie had mentioned that will be what separates the published from the ‘I wished I was...’.

So I can not stop. Honestly, I don't think I could now. Maybe procrastinate and sabotage myself, but not stop.

And then there’s that ‘thing’ which inspires us to keep writing. The details vary with everyone, but all will say it feels like a push inside of them, a inner drive. Or maybe it’s something more haunting, like a sirens song only they can hear (And NOT the little voices in your head. There are meds for that.) This song reminds me of that feeling, especially the last verse before the last chorus.

...All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic.

Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I've heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they're one and the same
I've heard it too many times to ignore it
There's something that I'm supposed to be

Someday we'll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me

Rainbow Connection, Kermit the Frog (Willie Nelson also does it justice)
Kailua Kona, Hawaii

The Salvaged Beauty Biz

One of my necklaces was included in aTreasury of Etsy! A Etsy Treasury, for the non-Etsian, is a ever changing, member curated shopping gallery.

Member can make collections of their favorite items or shops on Etsy and help advertise for said sellers while providing shopping options and eye candy to the rest of us.

This is my second inclusion on someones list. The Treasury I am entered in this time is 'Pussy Willows'.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c0f9015e8e98eef986d814d/pussy-willows

Sunday Sermon

Just another bit of inspiration to which I believe in wholly.

"If you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. Its that simple. What you see is what you get." ~~~Annie Dillard

Photo: Taken at a small nearly abandoned country church in a pretty much abandoned rural area called Acretown. I have quite a few family buried there from waaaaaaaay back. Would you believe the pic was a mistake and not intentional?

Weekend Recap

First, all praise the 3 day weekend and a weekend of mostly sun with a side of BBQ. Aside from a bit of writing, making the rounds on the internet and some Salvaged Beauty design pics on Flickr, I was able to photograph a new batch of jewelry for Etsy, edit them and entered a few to boot. I was also able to turn that camera on some pretty sites at a local park with my husband Jim on Sunday.

Fellows Riverside Garden within the Millcreek Metro Parks is definitely a jewel inside the rust belt that is the Mahoning Valley and I mean that with the utmost respect to the rust belt and my adopted home the Mahoning Valley.

The Gardens is the place of my first date with my husband, the place he proposed and one of the main places I learned to use a camera. Up until a few years ago I had never thought of touching one. Now it’s a much needed tool in my arsenal and a much loved hobby I enjoy with Jim and on my own.





Part of a ongoing art instalation in the park...




Hope you had a great weekend too and that the march back to the trenches not so daunting. This week I have promised myself and my budding Etsy shop, that I would join 2 more art and jewelry sites this week and enter 2 items a day onto Etsy this week starting tomorrow. I am also shooting for another batch of Regal Beach statement necklaces. And I NEED to finish up the new pillows for the couch since the old ones look no better than cat scratch posts (more on the beasts later). As for my WIP, I am looking at a less rough rough draft of my first chapter and a better start into the second. So here is hoping...and doing.

Type at ya later.