Summer Can Interfere

Sometimes my writer friends, especially those new to the business, ask me how I manage to write so many different things: books, articles, short stories, columns, blogs, etc. They tell me that something else always interferes with their plans to write. I tell them that it should be the other way around if they're serious about their craft. Writing should interfere with everything else.

Pick a time when you're the sharpest or can steal the time, then write something every day. Oh, yes, I hear the groans. Kids, telephone, cooking, cleaning, shopping, working. Sure. If those things are all more important, then forget writing. You'll never become a writer as long as you allow everything else to be more important.

Right off, of course, family comes first. But, if they can't give you an hour or two a day, what does that say for how they feel about you? Get serious.

Last week, for instance, I prepared and canned 48 pints of sweet pickles, spent a day in the Emergency Room getting a problem taken care of, swam every afternoon except that emergency day thing, cooked a noon day meal (he's on his own for supper snack) each day, attended a weekly writing group doing my grocery shopping on the way, spent a morning on a research trip, usual stuff like laundry and cleaning, and still worked 4-5 hours each day at my computer writing. I'm not bragging, I'm just telling all you who write: it can be done. How you do it is up to you. No one schedule fits everyone.

Yes, I'm fortunate that I don't work. I'm old, so the government sends me a check. I used to work, therefore the check. I know it's more difficult when you work, it's also more difficult when you have small children. I once chose to put my writing aside because I worked and had two small children, but it wasn't because I couldn't find time to write, it was because I did find time and after sitting up all night it was hard to get up and go to work and come home and cook and take care of my kids. Writing had as hard a hold on me as marijuana or cigarettes. So I decided to pack it up and wait until the kids grew up.

You may have to do that if you absolutely can't find time to write or finding that time cheats your family. But once you make the decision to continue to write, don't tell me you can't find time to do it. You will find the time, even if it's only an hour a day. And it should be each and every day. I take Sunday off because that's the day I can be with my family. Kids, grandkids and now a great grandkid. And everyone needs to rest sometime.

But everyday after noon meal, I head upstairs for the computer and I write or do something connected to writing. Promoting books that are already out there, poking around for publishers who might want what I have, checking out agents, etc. And my family does not bother me unless it's an emergency. They respect my space.

Until you can make that committment, then you're really not a writer, you're a hobbyist. And there's nothing wrong with that if it's what you want. So set out after what you want and get it. Perserverance is most important in this business. Have at it and you'll succeed.

Blue skies and warm winds beckon

Once, a wise woman told me that I should not bemoan my dislike of winter when it came around because that's when we could relax from our summer chores and do some things we'd put off for a while. That's when I began to welcome the colder days when no canning or weeding or mowing called. As I grow older and it takes longer to complete such duties, I realize how right she was.

I no longer mow or weed, but I have been faced with canning this year because our dear son-in-law decided to put in a huge garden since he'd been laid off from the building trade when the boom fizzled. Weekly he will bring me produce to do with as I please. Having come from a prudent parentage, I can't let it go to waste. So out came the old pressure cooker. To town we went to have the gauge tested and buy a new seal and I was ready. So far it's the early sweet garden peas which are so delicious fresh from the garden. But coming along fast behind are green beans, cucumbers, cabbage and corn.

With blue skies and warm winds calling, and since I have to make time to write too, it's a challenge to get the schedule set up to do everything. But so far I'm managing. Never having been one of those writers who put that last and let everything else interfere, I've determined to can only on mornings when no writing duties interfere. I always write in the afternoon, but goodness, when the days are sunny and hot, the pool in the backyard calls out to me.

Therefore, this Monday morning it was can garden peas, fix dinner, go swimming for an hour or more, and now I'm at the computer. Monday is the day I write blogs, post on Facebook and Twitter and Ning, anyplace else that needs attention so people don't forget who I am and what I do.

If you're interested in what we did Saturday, hop on over to my journal blog and read about a day visiting a gold mine and a lost city. Sounds a bit like Indiana Jones, doesn't it? This excursion was made for my book, The Boston Mountains: Lost In The Ozarks. We writers have an adventurous life, that's for sure. Especially when we're researching for our books.

Luckily I'm working on two books about the Boston Mountains of the Arkansas Ozarks, with totally different content. When I'm not searching for chaff for one I'm looking for stuff for the other. The cookbook is almost ready for its final drafting. It's been a lot of fun. Putting together the stories for the meals and memories subject matter was the easiest part, since I'm always writing historical stories from this area. The recipes which I thought might be difficult have turned out to be easily found in my mother's recipe collections which date back to her grandmother's day. I found many more than we needed. Copying them was the most difficult, but that's done and they've been proof-read by my dear editor, Becky McCall, who loves to read my drafts. Heaven only knows why.

Thursday night we had our regular critique group meeting. These have been going on for nigh-on to 25 years now, with Dusty Richards and me at the helm. We have quite a dedicated crew of writers who bring their work in for perusal and suggestions. Some come and go, others come every week, new ones joins every once in a while. We have a membership of 33 people right now, but thankfully not all of them ever show up on the same night. Several are getting published as a result of joining our group and hanging in there to learn their craft.

Many writers are amazed to find that they can't sit down, write a book, fix it once and sell it. We always tell them, "Does a brain surgeon carve up someone's brain after reading a few books and practicing once or twice?" Learn your craft, then hone your craft, then hone it some more. Write, write, write. Never mind that you have other things in your life. Learn to do them as well and still write every day. That is, if you're really serious about becoming a writer. If you're just doing it for fun, then have fun when you feel like it, but don't expect one day to find publishers knocking on your door.

Of course, you can always publish it yourself. That happens all the time. Ask most people who do that how many books they sell after their family all owns one. Whatever you want to do as a writer, know that it will take daily concentration, practice and perserverance to reach your goals. So, even though the skies are blue and the warm winds beckon, write at least an hour or two a day, whenever it's good for you. Make that a part of your daily schedule and enjoy.

Chasing Leads

If you're a writer then you know that a large portion of our work consists of research. That is especially true of historical writers, but none are exempt. Did you ever run across something in a fiction book that was so wrong you groaned. If only that author had taken the time to look it up and get it right, we would trust her more for the rest of her "facts." For even fiction contains facts. Gone are the days when we can invent everything. Even fantasy must be based on certain facts.

In my writing, I can look up nearly everything and find out about it, but when it comes to writing something everyone will want to read, I want to see what it is I'm talking about. And so, that's how my daughter and I came to be journeying through the rain Friday in search of a couple of locales I wanted to include in my latest book, The Boston Mountains: Lost In The Ozarks.

We went to Hazel Valley, though I'd been there a long time ago, just to make sure not much had changed, then we headed out for a place called Combs Chapel, where Nathan Combs brought his family from Kentucky in 1860 or thereabouts. We had directions from two different sources, but the outskirts of Fayetteville had usurped what we knew to be a cemetery, the only visible remains of the small community.

With thunder in the distance and rain threatening, we drove slowly, and spotted a large, very old brick house back in the trees. As soon as I could turn around, we went back and drove into the driveway. My idea was to take a picture of the house, but when the lady came out and greeted us we found much more than we expected.

She and her husband were descendants of the Combs party that came into Arkansas, and they owned the house. It is the original home of Nathan Combs. Built of bricks made on site, the house is today on the National List of Historical Places, and the young couple are putting it back together while living in it. We had a delightful conversation, then she gave us explicit directions to the cemetery. We were able to drive right to it.

The old iron arch that led to the cemetery was overgrown almost to the point of being unreadable and we could barely squeeze our SUV between the rock gate posts and onto the old burial grounds. My daughter hopped out with the camera and while I strolled among some of the nearby stones, she began to circle the grounds in search of the old pioneer burials. After making two complete circles, she discovered the stones, completely overgrown by trees, not 20 feet from where we'd parked.

Now that I've been there, I can better write about this community church and school and the Combs family who settled there so long ago.

If you can at all, make personal visits to all the places you write about, but if you can't, be sure you study writings by people who have been there and find pictures and diaries, journals or whatever you can telling about these places. Your reader will know when you make mistakes and the next time, they may hesitate before reading one of your books. That said, I have to also say that mistakes are inevitable. None of us are perfect, and sometimes we get something wrong. Don't let it eat you up, make up for it the best way you can and go on. It's especially easy to get something in history wrong because of all the different reports on events. Search and search some more, then do the best you can.

Even as she took the photos, rain began to fall. We left the hidden cemetery behind and drove away, satisfied with our visit into the past.

One of Arkansas Most Scenic Routes

The title may not sound like the subject of a blog about writing, but it is in a roundabout way. For I'd like to talk about the opportunities we authors have in locating beautiful places as we conduct our research. Being involved in writing nonfiction now, I'm spending a lot of time traveling around the four counties which I'm writing about.

Last week we drove highway 23 from Huntsville to Brashears on highway 16. This route on south to Interstate 40 is known as the Pig Trail, and is a scenic highway. But if you want to enjoy the scenery at its best, drive to Huntsville and take highway 23 from there. Don't miss those first 20 miles south to highway 16 before heading to Interstate 40. The entire route is the most scenic drive in Northwest Arkansas.

Four miles out of Huntsville, we crossed War Eagle Creek, and from there on, we drove between high bluffs on one side and the creek on the other. In places, the trees form a canopy over the road. Small valleys filled with cattle and horses, wander away between the mountains. The highway meanders higher and higher to give a birds-eye view of the Boston Mountains, before it heads down into a small valley and once more joins the wandering creek. It is indeed a breath-taking drive.

Pink rose mallow carpet both sides of the road, and clumps of white daisies compliment the blushing blossoms. Small golden sunflowers add their brilliant color to the bouquets.

All this enjoyment simply to visit and write about a few small communities that have nearly disappeared into the shadows of the past. Their stories are left behind for me to discover and reproduce so they won't be forever lost. The more I travel around our beautiful state, the more I know that this was the best idea I've ever had. This rewriting the tales of lost communities in our gorgeous Boston Mountains.

 

An Audio Book Memoir by Janet Grace Riehl

 

I’m pleased to have as my guest on the blog today, Janet Grace Riehl poet and writer. I’m the first of 18 stops on her blog tour in June and July for Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry and Music CD The audio version of Sightlines is a 4-disc audio book, a memoir in 90 poems and 40 songs produced by Janet and her father Erwin A. Thompson. This project enriches Janet’s poetry book Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary   

 

Her words reach deep into our personal memories and we can nod. Yes, we remember feeling that. We’ve gone through those emotions. She touches the heart and soul with delicate and honest thoughts that link our desires and hopes and faith to hers.

 

After listening to the audio book I came to understand some of my own remembrances with more

clarity. Janet’s voice reciting her recollections perfectly recreates a lifetime of precious

memories. Her father’s voice adds depth to her remembrances to produce an outstanding and

unforgettable memoir.

 

Janet has agreed to answer a few questions here today.

 

__________________________________

 

Velda: The music on this audio book ties your story poems together so perfectly. Tell us something about the process you and your dad went through to put this project of songs and poems together and how long you worked on it.

 

Janet: It took about a year from the time we recorded the material to the time we had the launch dinner in Nashville. If we were to add in the internet launch during June and July this year, it would add another quarter year to the project.

 

I knew nothing at all when I started. But, now I know that there are seven stages: 1) recording; 2) editing; 3) technical; 4) legal; 5) production; 6) marketing and promotion; 7) celebration. If your readers go to this You Tube link, they can view all eight videos describing these stages. Click here

 

Velda: All of us wish we could celebrate the lives of our loved ones in such a glorious way. How do you think writing such a poetic memoir has helped you and your father heal from the loss of your sister and your mother’s illness?

 

Janet: Julia died in 2004. Mother died in 2006. I wrote the book in 2005. The book came out in 2006, a few months before Mother died. I was always glad of that. After my sister’s death, all of our lives were chaotic. I started commuting for long stretches from N. California to the Midwest homeplace to be close to my family and help my father care for Mother. Writing the book was inspired after a small retreat over my birthday. It saved me because it was something that belonged to me that I could shape—at a time nothing else did. It was my way of creating meaning and a tribute to my sister, my mother, my father, our home place, and the place where I lived then in N. California. These make up the five sections of “Sightlines: A Poet’s Diary.”

 

After the book came out in 2006, Pop sat in a chair for two hours and read it cover to cover. He supported it completely, and understood my exhilaration.

 

The audio book of “Sightlines” was very much collaboration with many people. My father recorded his own poems and the voice work for the dialogue lines written for him in my poems. The music is from his youth, and includes seven original compositions by him. He tells stories and banters with the other players in the interludes in between poems. He is equally thrilled as I am with the product we produced.

 

What I love about both book and audio book is that these have helped people. I get many letters from readers who have gone through or are going through similar circumstances that say how these poems have helped them.

 

Velda: You show us how to “come home again” with your poems and music. It’s a great lesson we can all learn. Could you tell us something about your decision to return to Missouri and be with your family, and how that may have influenced the creation of this book? 

 

Janet: The book wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t made the decision to know the truth about my life through shifting the leverage of my time towards the Midwest. I could not have written this book if I’d stayed in N. California exclusively. There simply would have been very little to write about.

 

I moved full-time back to the Midwest the summer of 2007 to be closer to my father after Mother’s death in 2006. He’s 93 now and I feel this is such a precious time for both of us as we continue to develop our relationship. Our collaboration with the audio book was easier because I was here.

 

Janet: Velda, here’s a question for you. We both are rooted in the tradition of the Midwest. Do you feel that the flavor of the place gave an additional layer to your response to the audio book?

Velda:  Most definitely. I relate closely to the familiar music your dad plays and sings. It takes me back to my growing-up days. Also the way you tell your stories uses the idioms I'm so familiar with. The rhythm of the phrases, the words I know and love. And most especially your honesty in portraying your emotions, both sorrowful and happy, touched me deeply. This is an inspiring memoir.

Velda: You speak of good genes that you hope will affect the length of your life. How do you think your mother’s experiences and your father’s writing have leant to your talent as a poet and storyteller? 

 

Janet: I feel that my creative life is a direct legacy through the Riehl family, which is my father’s side. Pop has written as long as I’ve known him, in between working with his hands. He’s a great storyteller and folk poet.  Mother’s legacy in regard to this project was to give me the kind of drive, focus, and ability to organize, visualize, and shape both products. Without the latter set of talents and skills, what I had created would have stayed in my journal. I am strongly shaped by both of them, although I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to say that in my twenties!

 

Velda: My blog celebrates stories woven in time, which is a perfect match for your memoir in poetry and music which celebrates your family’s history. Could you give my readers some advice on writing their own memoirs, whether in prose or poetry?

 

Janet: Story Circle Network is an organization exclusively dedicated to “Women with Stories to Tell.”  Several of us on this blog tour write for their blog. I post on creativity every first Tuesday there. 

 

Tomorrow, June 2nd, I’ll be a guest blogger on Women’s Memoirs  My topic is using story poems as a tool in memoir. At the end of the post there are several writing prompts. Hope to see some of your readers there!

 

Velda: What do you have in mind for future projects?

 

Janet: When the blog tour ends in July, I’m sure I’ll feel like going to the beach! My next project is getting back to working on my memoir: Finding My African Heart: A Village of Stories. Also, on Monday June 1 and Wednesday June 3 Gwyn Ramsey will run interviews with me on my two trips to Africa. Thanks so much for hosting me, Velda, on the first stop on our tour.

Velda: I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Sightlines audio booklink.  Thanks for being a guest on my blog and I'll get the word out everywhere I know.

 

I’ll be following Janet’s blog tour. Each of the 18 stops is new material. So, you’ll learn a little more at each stop. I’ll be there tomorrow for the second stop at www.womensmemoirs.com.

 

CONTEST: There’s also a contest with a question at each stop. Go to the You Tube videos and watch the Sightlines Audio Book You Tube video  Then, answer this question: Where was the audio book produced and what event does this video mark? When you find the answer, contact Janet through her website: www.Riehlife.com. The first person to contact her with the correct answer will receive a free copy of Sightlines: A Family Love Story in Poetry and Music.”

 

 

Agent has the flu

We had a fun get-together at Boxcar Willie's in Branson for the quarterly OWL meeting. Many went with the expectation of pitching our work to an agent, but he had the flu, and so we were disappointed in that respect. He will look at our pitches, though, so perhaps that will make up for his absence. 

So many local writers attend OWL that it's always a good day. Many of us writers spend hours and hours shut up in an office hammerng away on our computer, so we enjoy a day off and spending it with others who understand us. Only another writer can feel our pain or joy with the rejection or acceptance of our work. Only a fellow author knows the heady excitement of seeing a book in print; share the discovery of a new story idea; celebrate with us when we find a good agent or great publisher. For that reason, all writers should belong to some writing groups, if it's only to leave the garrett once in a while. 

The auction was a huge success, raising $1500, which we can use to find other agents and editors who will attend and actually listen to our ideas. Thanks to all our members who donated items, both new and used for the sale. When our president Regina Williams asked how many new people were in attendance, a lot of hands went up, and that's great. We know that the word is getting out about the terrific programs put on by OWL four times a year.

This time we had award winning short story author Pat Carr, who spent several hours coaching us through writing techniques which may have been new to some, forgotten by others. Pat writes terrific short stories and she's also a good teacher.

Sunday, I spoke at founders day at the Lake Fort Smith State Park and Lake. My grandparents once lived very near where the visitor's center is located in the park and we lived where one of the picnic sites overlooks the lake. I've often interviewed and written about those who settled in that valley long before either lake was there. Two lakes became one much larger body of water and last year they held a grand opening.

I enjoyed visiting with everyone Sunday about the early days in the area. The park rangers are interested in history and Brad Hyman has been especially helpful to me as he gathers old photos and stories. The park also sells all the Ozark books I can get for them, including Echoes of the Ozarks, an anthology published by OWL as a fund raiser.

If you aren't a member and live in the surrounding four-state area,  you should check out the Ozarks Writers League. Our next meeting will be the third Saturday of  August.

OWL meeting Saturday

The Ozark Writers League has been around for more than 20 years, and I've belonged for most of those, probably 18 or so. I met my first publisher there in 1992, and in April of 1994 my first book was published. A small, creative nonfiction book Wandering In The Shadows of Time, which is still in print, and of which I'm indeed proud, if that's not a sin. If it is, well, so be it, I reckon.

OWLs has gone through many transitions in all those years, and I'm happy to say they've kept up with the changing times in the writing business. Every May we hold an auction which is a fund raiser to help pay for speakers who appear at one of our quarterly meetings. Dusty Richards is the auctioneer, and he's had plenty of experience, having owned an auctioneering business for many years. A Rennaisance man, Dusty was also on local television doing ag news for many years, he's been a rodeo announcer in Springdale too, and did his share of riding in his younger days.

Oddly, Dusty lived near me for a lot of years before I actually met him, after I started going to writer's functions. We've grown very close over the years, and today are cohosts of a writer's critique group. We're going into our 23rd year doing that.

But back to OWLs. Not only did I meet my first publisher there, I also met many beginning writers who have become good friends as well as published authors . There's Suzann Ledbetter, Cait London, Jory Sherman, and the list goes on.

This Saturday not only will we hold our annual auction, but we will be privileged to have with us an agent from The Trident Agency in New York City. He will speak, then take pitches from members for the remainder of the day. While he does that, Pat Carr, well -known award winning short story author will conduct a workshop.

This is only an example of the excellent programs this organization puts on each quarter. For a mere $25 a year or $10 for one meeting, writers can network with published authors, an occasional editor or agent, exchange ideas and have a great time. Most of us spend way too much time holed up writing and we need to meet folks once in a while to recharge the old juices. What better place to do so than at a writer's meeting such as the Ozark Writers League? I know I'm looking forward to a day away from "the office." No telling what I'll learn this Saturday.