Writers in the Storm

My first airplane ride was to Tahiti for my honeymoon.  I had a good leash on my nervousness because every time I looked out the window I saw I little blinking red coastal light.  After a couple of hours my new husband asked me how I was doing.  "Great!  If we crash I can get us to shore."  After all, I had been a lifeguard in high school.

At his expression of disbelief I leaned forward so he could look out the window and see the blinking coastal light.  "See?  We're hugging the coast of Mexico."  When he finally stopped laughing, he explained that light was the wingtip light.

Well, I'm much more savvy about flying these days.  As I get ready for "the trip of a lifetime" I'm not nervous at all about the seventeen hour flight time.  After all, I'm finally going to see the pyramids I studied about in sixth grade.  To get ready for this trip I've seen a travel doctor--enough times that you might think we were dating to look at my calendar.  I've had six shots and four more to go, as well as live virus typhoid sitting in my refrigerator for when I get up enough nerve to swallow it.

My travel buddy and I went with another friend to Mexico last month as a "trial run."  The challenge was to avoid all medical scenarios beginning with "travelers."  I'd been practicing at home--without much success--washing my hair without getting water in my mouth and brushing my teeth with only bottled water.  (Heck, I saw Sex in the City!)  I should have gone to Mexico sicker than a dog based on my practice skills.

But when it's life or toilet, you do pay more attention.  Only one time did I forget about the toothbrush and, at my scream, my friends rushed bleach to the bathroom so I could rinse my mouth. Thank goodness the hotel delivered liters of purified water to our room every day.  I forgot to take the steri-pen, which I'd purchased for the big trip.  Didn't get to practice there, but I practiced when I got home.  (Uh-huh, wing tip light.)

We'd all been eating healthier this year and took advantage of the kitchen in our place.  I had despaired of a week without salads, but we found organic lettuce and decided to take a chance.  Actually we were able to purchase many organic vegetables and a produce cleanser that the grocer guaranteed would remove 99.9% of the bacteria.

Good thing our little apartment had seven sinks.  We had lettuce and veggies soaking the requisite 20 minutes in every one of them.  Through three rotations!  But it was worth it.  Of course we all took little capsules of activated charcoal, which snags toxins in your digestive tract.  Nobody got sick and we ate very well and even managed to lose weight.

I'm going to bask in that success before I share the latest self-inflicted hurdle to the big trip.   It's way better than the wingtip light.  And it all started when I saw Sex in the City 2.

By Sharla Rae

Writers live, eat and breathe writing, but imagination and creativity is something that migrates into every aspect of our lives. Here, under the topic of Other Obsessions I’m pleased to talk about one of my other obsessions. My doll collection.   

I love my collection because it’s not the usual type with only antiques, Barbies or artist dolls. I collect dolls from all over the world in their native costumes, many handmade. That’s not to say that I don’t have a few of the other types. I do.

Another thing that makes the collection unique is that like my writing, it’s from the heart. While some of the dolls are quite valuable now, value or potential value isn’t how I choose them. If a doll touches something inside me, they earn a home in my doll cabinet. Like old and familiar friends, each and every one has its own story. Some, I admit have been gifts from friends who know me and my collection well, but most have arrived via my travels.

My husband started the whole thing. He’s Chinese and one day in the autumn of our first year of marriage, he took me shopping at an Asian grocery in Des Moines, Iowa. Amidst the cans of lychee and bamboo shoots, I spied a beautiful Korean doll sitting all by herself. Something about her made me smile and want to dance. She’s in a sitting position with a long string instrument across her lap, and her dainty, individually-sewn cloth fingers lay on the strings. The store owner said she was a wedding singer.

Believe it or not, I didn’t purchase the doll. I’ve always been practical and like most newlyweds hubby and I watched our pennies. But a couple months later on Christmas morning, there she was, my first Christmas present from my husband. He’d remembered, and he couldn’t have given me anything I would’ve liked better.

I now think of my little wedding singer as the First Lady of my collection which has grown to around 180 dolls representing 44 countries. These include, of course, a few novelties like my Star Trek Barbies, a few antiques and art dolls.

I’ll probably be talking about particular dolls once in a while. But right now, I’m going to relax on the sofa with a cup of chamomile tea and imagine great romances for a couple of them. I wonder . . . Is there a mysterious hero hidden behind the one with the ghastly African mask over his face?

By Charlotte Carter 

If you’re a writer, sooner or later you’re going to have to pitch your book to an agent or editor. If nothing else, you want to be able to tell your spouse/sibling/co-worker what you’re writing. 

And you need to keep it short. All of the above have a very short attention span.

Naturally, I have some suggestions that should help you. 

First, buy Lori Wilde’s “Conquering the High Concept,” which is available at her Web site: www.LoriWilde.com  ($25 U.S.) Her book is designed to help writers when creating a new story, but it works fine after your story is written. Using her techniques, you’ll come up with a 25-word ‘log line’ describing your story. (Even my brother can pay attention that long.)

 Or you can use Dwight Swain’s technique found in Techniques of a Seller Author.

Every story has 5 basic elements:

1. Focal character
2. Situation - what moves the character to change
3. Objective or goal
4. Opponent - person, force or any antagonist
5. Disaster - what threatens your character or his goal.

Putting these 5 elements together you can come up with a paragraph that tells your story. Here’s the result I got when developing my pitch for Montana Hearts, my December 2010 inspirational romance from Love Inspired.

 A heart transplant recipient travels to Montana to thank her donor family and falls in love with the organ donor’s widower. But does he love her for herself or because he believes his late wife’s heart beats in her chest?

That’s it. No extra details. A quick pitch I can do in an elevator (while traveling only a floor or two).

The key is brevity. Don’t ramble. Don’t go on so long the editor (or your brother) glazes over.

 Hope this helps. Good luck!

Charlotte Carter
Books from Love Inspired
     Montana Hearts, December 2010
     Big Sky Reunion, May 2011

 Visit my blog:  www.CharlotteCarter.com