When I Grow Up . . .

Do you remember what you wanted to be when you grew up? Fireman? Spy? Nurse? Cowboy or Cowgirl? I’ll bet you wanted to be one or all of these things at one time or another. For some, it all depended on which TV program was most popular at the time. Maybe it was Ben Casey, Bonanza, The Man from UNCLE, or Emergency! you watched when you were younger. Me? I can’t remember what my favorite shows were. I was too busy reading.

There was a time when I wanted to know EVERYTHING. And to me, that included history, especially the early civilizations like Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the early formation of the European countries. I read everything. And I do mean everything—good and bad—even The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (yes, I know it was inaccurate and fraught with bad info…but I read it back when it was accepted as the real thing). Charlemagne was one my all-important historical ‘heroes.’ So was Herodotus, Aeschylus, and Pericles (and many more). Each were different. Herodotus was the historian, Aeschylus a writer of plays, and Pericles, the builder of Athens. I had no real Roman ‘heroes’ except for Marcus Aurelius who was responsible for what is known as the golden age of Rome. I also studied the world religions. This was on my own, without urging from my teachers.

That explains why I wanted first to be a teacher of history.

Then I decided that I didn’t just want to be a historian, but a writer-historian, like Herodotus. Because my interests were history and writing, I turned to journalism, at my stepdad’s urging. He encouraged me to study French (the diplomatic language of the time) which I did. Together we laid out a plan for my life: After being a news journalist and foreign correspondent for a few years, I would then teach history. Yes! My future was ‘set.’ This was all decided in my Freshman year in high school—at the tender age of 15. I would major in history and minor in journalism. In my Junior year I began to research possible colleges. I considered Penn State, UCLA, and the University of the Pacific in Stockton. In my Senior year, however, I applied to the University of Beirut, Lebanon (because they spoke French and specialized in ancient civilizations) and was accepted. Unfortunately, my life took an unexpected turn.

I got married.

Pre-marriage, my life at home was pretty bad right around the time of my graduation from high school (but that’s a whole ‘nother story, however). Suffice it to say that my stepdad was in serious trouble with the law and my home life was chaotic, tenuous, and at times even hostile. That’s probably why I got married—as an escape—a mistake a lot of girls make when they could have changed their lives in other, better ways. It was a pretty stupid way of ditching my problems, but rationalization set in. It was 1967 and it was Israel’s Six-Day War. Not a good time to pursue one’s educational goals, albeit in the middle east! Other wars followed, so I put the whole educational thing on hold and took the 'easy' way out!

I could have been a veterinarian, too. I love animals—all kinds. Once it was suggest that I should be a vet. I kind of liked the idea. I always took in the strays—the weak, the sick, the starving. I always nursed them back to health and found them homes. I’m doing that now: Project Cricket—a skinny, worm infested, barn kitty. She also has the dreaded feline herpes virus clouding eyes that drain constantly. There is long-suffering in her background, which makes me want to help her more. So far, so good. She’s starting to put on a little weight, but she has a long way to go.

I thought about being a vet…I just couldn’t deal with euthanizing a perfectly good animal, which I would have to do from time to time. Euthanasia is appropriate and necessary under some circumstances, and I agree with it when an animal has no hope of living a normal life. I just don’t want to have to do it.

So what did I end up doing? Ha! I went to work to support my family, especially after the kids came along. Although I went to American River College in Sacramento, I never really got a 4-year degree. Instead, I went to work for the State of California. I was a data entry operator, a government analyst, a personnel specialist, an upward mobility counselor, EEO Analyst, a disaster medical specialist, and of late, a resume writer (a side job I have done for the last 30 years or so). I’ve been pretty good at all of those things, but they weren’t what I set out to do.

I wanted to write fiction.

Nowadays I do write. I published my first book last year (Desperado Moon) and am working on another (The Last Conquistador). I don’t know when it will be finished—probably not for a couple of years. In the meantime, I still read a lot of history and provide aid and comfort to the local kitty population, especially Cricket. I’m doing what I can for her. And you know what? That gives me absolute and total pleasure—to be able to help and rehabilitate her. I’ve done it many times before and it never ceases to amaze me, how resilient our animal friends can be, especially if one applies lots of love along with food and medicine. However, this little kitty is going to be a major challenge.

When asked what my most fulfilling role has been (other than as the mother of my two fantastic sons and grandmother to my equally fantastic and amazing granddaughter, Samantha) I have to say finishing my first book and providing aid and comfort to helpless animals. I love them all: dogs, cats, horses, goats, geese, birds…you name it. I’m just a sucker, I guess. But that’s me—a mother, grandmother, wife, writer, and an animal lover of the 1st degree.

So what is the point of this particular blog, you ask?

It’s all about making choices in life—choices that ultimately affect the future. It’s about making the right decisions that help to determine who you are… choices that help you to be true to yourself.

To the younger set reading this blog: If life throws you a curve, it doesn’t mean you have to duck, jump, or otherwise let go of your dreams. Stay strong. Stay on the path. Follow your dreams no matter what happens or what anybody says to deter you (it’s mostly jealousy, anyway). Your time is now (before you get married, start a family, etc.) Finish school. Be the best you that you can be. The future becons, but it can be lost with a snap of the fingers or a decision made in haste.

Look at it this way: Your life is a box. The contents (you) are fragile and should be handled with care.

When someone says “Don’t worry, you can always go back to school,” don’t fall for it. Stay in school, learn, and put the polish on your own apple. Love, marriage, and kids will follow when you are ready. There is plenty of time to settle down.

Then, when somebody asks you what you want to be when you grow up, you don’t have to spew a list of regrets and rationalizations, work in a field you didn't want, or never make the money you could have made had you finished school.

Think of these precautions when you are about to make a life changing choice:

“Contents fragile.”

“Handle with care.”

And above all, keep “This [your] end up” and finish what you start.

A Productive Summer

I read a few books this summer on the craft of novel writing. I guess I was anticipating my mini writing retreat in Palm Springs and wanted to be prepared to make some headway.

Here are the books and a short summary of each. If you're a writer or aspiring writer, you might find some of these very useful.

At the top of my list is The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass, a veteran literary agent, creative writing instructor, conference speaker, etc. You name it and he’s done it. This is an excellent book if you really want to get the attention of an agent or editor. In short, it provides amazing insight as to why a book works or doesn’t work. He pulls key paragraphs out of several books and explains why the writing is memorable. He also wrote The Breakout Novel and the Breakout Novel Workbook. I have both, but The Fire in Fiction gets to the heart and soul of great writing. All aspiring novelists should get this book because it will definitely help elevate their writing to the next level. (I almost destroyed his book in reading it—it was that good!)

Break Into Fiction by Mary Buckham and Dianna Love (both are award-winning novelists) is another must-have book. Follow this method and you can’t lose! Instead of books, however, they use popular movies as examples like The Bourne Identity, Pretty Woman, and Finding Nemo. There are others, but these stand out in my mind. This book has templates for each main element in fiction writing. Just answer the questions in the templates, learn from the examples, and voilà, you have the beginnings of a novel!

The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, screenwriter extraordinaire and a story consultant for the film industry, is another one. This one really helped me work through my plot points and character motivations for The Last Conquistador, my novel in progress. I have to confess, however, that I only got to page 107 (it’s 420 pages total). The first few chapters were so powerful, I could only digest a few pages at a time. It really poked, prodded, and made me think—really think--about my story. I would alternately read, then write, then read some more. This was the only book I took with me to Palm Springs. My suggestion: If you are having trouble with your story, read this book. But be forewarned, it is not an easy read. It covers a lot of ground and must be digested before moving from one chapter to the next.

One of these days I will write a mystery. It seems that my good friend and fellow writer, Patricia Canterbury, has a lot of fun with these. (She’s published a lot of children’s books but recently published Every Thursday, one of her Nancy Noire mysteries). In writing my current novel, I needed a resource book that could help me with ONE scene (I know, I know… I could have gone to the library, but it may come in handy later!) It’s called Police Procedure and Investigation by Lee Lofland, a former police detective with over 20 years of service. It discusses just about everything: Police academy, arrest, warrants, homicide (and a bunch of other crimes), crime scene investigation, evidence, DNA, the court system, jails and prisons, and even the codes police officers use when speaking to each other. This is just one in a series of resource books for writers. I have one other, Book of Poisons, by Stevens and Bannon. I read that one just for curiosity.

Yesterday I bought another book that looks very promising. I was a little low on cash at the time, but I was afraid that I wouldn’t find it again. Novel Shortcuts, by Laura Whitcomb, another award-winning novelist, is well organized, easy to read, and discusses a number of things: Scene construction, dialog, emotion, plot and plot webs, and so on. I’ll weigh in on it after I finish reading it.

Other books I read this summer: Maximum Ride, the Final Warning, and Daniel X, both by James Patterson, and Louis L’Amour's book of short stories (Volume 1). I wanted to read more, but I just couldn’t. I was too busy reading my other books. When I’m in the process of writing, I rarely read fiction because I don’t want to affect that particular writer's style. I want to invoke my own. (BTW, Daniel X was AWFUL, but I am committed to reading the genre because I write for teens and mid-graders).

If you look on my website, you’ll see that I’ve posted some Tips for Writers. I wrote this for my writers organization, Writers Resource Center, but I thought, hey, this could be something to help those in my fan base (I think I have one!) who aspire to be writers. One of my tips for beginners is to start a resource library. If you love to read and think that maybe—just maybe—you would like to try your hand at novel writing, you might want to think about starting with the basics of writing. There are a lot of books out there, but only a few are really worth buying.

The books I mentioned above are mostly geared for novel writing. There are books I can recommend for other aspects of writing, too, on topics such as the publishing business, marketing, the query letter, writing for teens and children, journalistic writing, etc. I have a broad resource library and have read many 'how-to' books. I can probably help guide you in your quest to find the right book.

So, if you have comments or questions, you know where to find me!