WIP Wednesday: What WIP's Do When They Are Sick

First, thank you all for your well wishes. I am feeling better. Thank you and I shall be catching up in the blog world this week. I will not bore you with the details of having a cold or sinus issues, but I will say I started feeling sick about a couple weekends ago.

The Sunday before, I attended my first International Woman's Writing Guild meeting of the season. It was great to be back with the gals. Pot luck treats and writing prompts abound for our season starter.

Unfortunately, I felt the 'walking dead' feeling on and off through that day and by Monday I so knew I was sick. This did not bode well for the rest of my week. Aside from my other obligations, I was in the final stages on getting ready for a area craft show, my first.

So what do WIP's do when they are sick? They improvise and soldier on.

Welcome to my tent at the 34th annual Boardman Rotary Oktoberfest! Sad to say, the day was cold and rained part of it. Not good for getting over being sick. Happy to say I did enjoy the experience, the people and made my space for the day with a little extra. All of this let me ignore the whole wet and cold thing.

The tent is Jim and I camping pavilion when we go to the astronomy field. The pretty little table up front is my great grandfathers. The photos of my wares and said wares are of my creation of course. It was Jim's idea for me to place some of my pics out to advertise (good hubby) and the displays are of my creation. And if you ever wanted another use for a old type drawer, try it as a craft and jewelry display. Just $5 at my local junk store.



And some of my crafty neighbors and patrons milling about old Boardman Park.

Now, be sure to take a card before you go. All not sold at the show will be up on etsy soon enough.

Now, as for my sick WIP Ghost Mountain, I have found some good medicine. A lovely writing pal of mine, Eliza, reminded me that National Novel Writing Month is upon us and NaNoWriMo may be the perfect chance to untangle my WIP while pushing a steady word count towards completion.

I say it sounds like just what the doctor ordered.

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…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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!

Weekend Recap: Paintbrushes and Predators

This weekend I enjoyed paintbrushes and Predators *evil smirk*. The paintbrushes were a part of my Volunteer gig at my old Alma Mater Youngstown State University. The Summer Festival of the Arts played out this year under blue skies and packed full of Art Booths, Food Vendors, Performance Art, Children' s crafts and clowns--a lot of clowns.

On that note, say hello to my new friend. We met while I was helping ankle biters--said lovingly--make beautiful messes at the Children's Craft tent. He squirted me in the face with fake ketchup (later he gave me the secret recipe) and I told him his monkey needed feeding. I think he was attracted to the bright, coma inducing colors of my above shirt *rolls eyes*. (Really, I loved the shirt. I felt very safe walking across traffic.) Ya gotta love fast friends, art fests and the projectile stage prop.

















All kidding aside, I volunteered last year at a friends insistence and plan to do so from now on. It's just that much fun to me. The kids, the art and the crowds make for a wonderful weekend. And YSU always had a beautiful campus. It's a great place to do time in the name of art and volunteerism.





















And it was a great chance to talk to other Artisans and vendors. Next year I thing I may set up my own tent for Salvaged Beauty. Help the Children's tent set up first and then sell my pretty bits of jewelry and art. So maybe...
...and the paintbrushes I promised you.

Now the Predators. I am a huge fan of nail biting action and of course Science Fiction. No matter how many high heels I've bought or chick flicks I have watched, my thirst for blood and bullets has only grown, much to the delight of my husband.

I blame my father for that. Early on I was armed with a pocket knife, good aim, a independent attitude, the mantra 'Don't you ever start a fight, but you sure as hell better be the one to end it' and a steady diet of Rambos, Die Hards, Lethal Weapons with a education from teachers such as John Wayne, Bronson, Eastwood, Lee and Schwarzenegger. So no matter matter how much Jane Austen, high heels or pretty things I place my life I shall always yell proudly.....LONG LIVE ACTION!!!!

The new reboot of Predator definitely appeased my old school action sci fi lust and gave me a new look at a favorite actor Adrian Brody. Some critiques may have originally paned him "he's no Arnold" and "The Pianist Guy who kissed Hale Berry at the Oscars?", but I loved him as Royce the MC. He looked the part and moved like the part of a professional killer. He behaved the part as a dark, skilled, all business soldier turned merc who'd become a predator of men because he felt he could not be anything else. A quote he gave in explanation of his 'predator' status amongst men...

"Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter."--Ernest Hemingway (from "On the Blue Water" in Esquire, April 1936)

Add a few other well cast killers--predators in his or her own right, throw in alien hell dogs, nasty Predator aliens and a insain Lawrence Fishburn and it was a satisfying evening of popcorn and mayhem.

The Hope To-Do List:

This weekend I enjoyed the camaraderie and the critique of my writing buds at Focus on Fiction. We meet at our local Barnes and Noble every 4th Sunday of the month. And I also sold another pair of earrings to a friend. A friend? but a sale none the less and most appreciated. Both happenings reminded me of what I must focus on when filling this weeks to-do list. Make more jewelry and make more words!!!!!!

The Jewelry shouldn't be a trouble. I have quite a few to post on Etsy this week and I have about six to photo today or tomorrow. I am also at present trying out painting wood beads. My first set resemble the planets in our solar system, the next earth tones and possibly Fall and Halloween themed beads. (Will definitely be posting pics) I also have new batch of re purposed pearls and glass beads on their way to becoming multi-strand statement pieces. (So going to take pics)

As for my WIP, lets just say the reviews and critique at my FoF meeting went really well. A lot of honest raves and very helpful hints and critique. This week I will brush up what I had critiqued and then slide into the rest of Chapter 1.

And of course participate in The First Sentence of your WIP contest at A No.2 Pencil Stat! I hope you join me!

And Happy 4th BTW! Remember that we are our country. Your neighbor, your friends, the goofy guy selling shoestrings down the street--we are all what makes this United State of America the amazing home that it is. Make sure to stand and be counted this patriotic day. Celebrate, enjoy your family and friends, fly that flag and remember we are the people of the United States. Remember what it took for us to be this freedom laden land and that it means to keep those feedoms secure.

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

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...

The ‘Hope’ To-Do List

Last week…
• Finished non-kitty and hubby tore up couch pillows. CHECK!
• Finished my writing group (Focus on Fiction) assignment and dug up a writing exercise for group. CHECK!
• Have an entry for Shelley's 'I Can't Say It! Blog Fest.
• I did not pick out possible photos to print and matte for Etsy shop sales and will do so this week.
• Did photo recent jewelry creations and will be entering this week. Also finished more to be photographed if Mother Nature permits the sun to come out. Double CHECK!

• And I may not have finished the first chapter of my present WIP Ghost Mountain due to unforeseen life reasons, I do have a fairly strong start and have come up with a better idea to begin the chapter. A more action driven and fairly humorous start with a tinge of eerie mystery and woe for my main character. A sample…

Chapter 1
Just Howling at the Moon

It was that feeling again. Like having your hand palm down on a railroad track, knowing the train was on its way. Only it was his entire being that felt the low rumble and he could bet his star that the ‘something’ coming was just a bend turn away…

Now help me out on this one. Does this sound familiar to any of you? It does to me and I hope to Hell I didn’t unconsciously copy it from somewhere. When I write something that sounds decent to me, it feels familiar. So it could be that. I hope it’s that.

So, this week…

• Find those pictures.
• Finish Chapter 1.
• Continue making jewelry, photo them and enter on Etsy.
• Prepare for Jim and I next camping trip. Get out the camping list or the “If Zombies Take Over the World” packing list.
• And edit my entry for A No.2 Pencil Stat! first sentence of your WIP contest.

Here is hoping I knock out the list through the week. How about you? Knocking out or being knocked out by your to-do lists? Anything finished and proud of?

The 'Hope' To-Do List

My weekend was rained out, so not much to recap. *pouts* But I do have some things crossed off my list from last weeks Weekend Recap...

Today, I started the new pillows to replace my sadly cat and husband mauled couch pillows. Fabric fresh from JoAnne Etc and picked by Jim and I. He doesn't get a ton of say in the dec part of our loft, but he is a willing participant when asked. The fabric wasn't a bad compromise. He wanted tropical and I wanted soft blue and green in a indoor/outdoor fabric.

I did not enter a item a day on Etsy but I did enter a few new pieces and in addition tweaked the shops appearance and workings a bit. I also found a future craft show to attend in the fall and filled out my volunteer form to work at the childrens craft fair at our local Colleges Art Fest next month. It was a blast last year. www.ysu.edu/sfa . And signed up again for www.themuseonlinewritersconference.com and was accepted to join the this year.

I have made and will be finishing up some new necklaces and earrings for my shop. I'm sorta into the beads and ribbon thing right now. I love the combination of hard smooth beads and soft ribbon....
And I did add to my prologue for Ghost Mountain, which I shall share Wednesday. And presently I am tackling a more filled out Chapter One and not the brief sum up I have presently. I WILL GET THIS DONE! I WILL GET THIS DONE! I WILL GET THIS DONE! (Side note: Need to find a word counter to instal on this blog! Anyone???)

Now, this week...

• Finish next batch of jewelry for Etsy, photo it and enter. And of course keep making more.
  
• Finish pillows!
• Finish Chapter One (Ghost Mt.) rough draft.
• Start my writing group (Focus on Fiction) assignment and dig up a writing activity for group. I have been co-moderating said group for the last few months. Each month, I come up with a sort of lesson plan and homework.
• Start my entry for Shelley's 'I Can't Sa It! Blog Fest. storiesintheordinary.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-cant-say-it-blog-fest.html
• Pick out some possible photos to print and matte for Etsy shop sales.
  

Okay then! I hope to get the majority of this done around the life stuff. *shaking head* Silly life stuff getting in the way! That's okay. Issy the-flying-cat (pictured) will assist, at least in the jewelry department.

So how about you? Do you guys make a to-do list for the day, week, month, year? How closely do you follow it?

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.