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Twenty minutes of grooming later, Grant tumbled down the wooden stairs, passing the family portraits on the wall. Stone giants smiled and waved at him from picnic tables, on top of tractors, in school plays.

He grabbed his coat from the hall stand, went through a doorway and crossed the plush carpet of the living room to the kitchen door. His mom flipped pancakes in a cast-iron skillet over a gas burner. Two miniature women in red bonnets stood on stepping stools, setting a taller than average oak table.

“Morning, Inga,” said Grant. “Morning, Helga.”

“Morning, Grant,” said one of the nisse. The other small woman giggled.

“Morning, Mom.” Grant kissed his mother on the cheek. “David’s on bowl patrol.”

***

And so it goes. Our goal for chapter two will be to build a small Midwestern town in which it’s okay to have trolls on the basketball team.

5 / 56 words. 9% done!

I’m a little late to this party, but I still think it’s worth posting about, especially for all three of you who read my journal and don’t read Gaiman or Scalzi.

Let’s start with a little history. Many famous writers have, on occasion, had to fall back on their writing and reputation to make a living in the world. The one that I teach the most often about is Mark Twain.

Twain was an entrepreneurial man, and quite frankly, it cost him. He went from being exceedingly rich to tragically poor. What did he do to pay the debt from his investitures that bankrupted him? He launched a world tour. He traded on his name and reputation, and embarked on a trip that would change his life. The Clemens family had honor, and wanted to make sure their debts with creditors were cleared.

Time wends its way to today. Unlike Mark Twain, through no fault of their own, Catherynne Valente and her fiance Dmitri are suffering tough economic times.

Many writers have been. Occasionally the writing community has asked for donations for individuals to save their homes, or help with medical expenses. Sadly, there have been many more of these requests in the last few months, as you might expect.

Valente is pulling a Mark Twain and a Charles Dickens.

Continue reading “Writers and the Need to Eat”

Chapter one weighs in around 17 pages. The new improved version makes you feel sorry for Jensina and Wort. I hope the trick of not coming back to Wort until chapter three or four works to keep the reader in the loop, because I’ve got to set up my young trolls next.

Keep weighing in on that label post. I’m finding that information fascinating and useful for class!

Scene count:

4 / 56 words. 7% done!

Catherine

It was truly challenging to get this done today, but here’s what happens when a middle-aged skeptic fights a vampire. Well, the first part anyway.

Catherine

I have been attending a class on the Mahabharata. Last week we talked about the details of the Indian epic, and I’d like to do some summarizing and reflection on it and the culture it represents, but this week, we’re talking about symbol, culture, ritual, and art.

Right now, a discussion of labels is going on around me. We’re talking about how people perceive others and how labels define us. I’m very curious about your opinions, so I’ll throw out this question:

When you describe yourself in relation to your creative/occupational activity, how do you describe yourself to others?

Examples:

I’m an artist.
I’m a novelist.
I write novels.
I want to write novels.
I’m a published author.
I’m an author.
I am a _______ (the area of work which makes you money)

Further, how do you feel how you describe yourself affects how other people see you?

Examples:

The label I use makes people see me as overconfident.
The label I use makes people uncomfortable.
The label I use term makes people respect me more.

Finally, why do you choose the term you use to describe yourself?

Very interested in your answers!

More scenes. The first scene expanded a lot; the second two were pretty okay, and needed some tightening.

Tomorrow’s scene is one of the later ones, and needs a lot of work. I have to reframe Jensina and Wort, setting Wort up to meet Manuel and family, and setting Jensina up to make the troll cat.

That will be the end of the first chapter. Chapter Two gets us right into the trolls. Of course, in this version, I give my three young trolls flaws. I’ll be asking Team Revision if I hit them over the head, or if it’s too subtle, or if the flaws are just right.

Well, today’s word count.

3 / 56 words. 5% done!

Tonight, unfortunately, we drive down for a funeral visitation. Bryon’s aunt. Bryon’s fine, but he’s concerned for his parents. That’s the second person they’ve lost in a short time, and it is hard on them, especially his dad.

I wish you all productive writing and gentle summer evenings. Especially if you’re Jim Hines, and you have to clean up the trees in your yard.

Catherine

In my continuing series of profiling artists, today I’m happy to interview Dana Noble. Dana and I have some history. She was my college roommate during my freshman year at Iowa State, and we spent a lot of time going into and out of each other’s lives. Dana’s work is mostly in jewelry and metals, with themes that encompass the architectural and the natural. A visit to Dana’s website will give you an idea of the scope and quality of her work. One of the things that I admire about Dana is that she practices art with a conscious.

When did you first know you had an interest in art?

I became conscious of my abilities when I was in elementary school. I was into horses as many girls are. I started drawing them, and knew I had the ability to transform what I saw onto paper.

What kind of training do you have?

Inspiration and encouragement from grade school teachers first. Then, I earned a BA in Art Education. Disillusionment with teaching compelled me to answer an ad for a beginning goldsmith at Joseph Jewelers in Des Moines, Iowa. There I learned the trade of goldsmithing and bench jewelry. I wanted to live overseas and moved to Japan. There was a position for an international designer for a button manufacturer, Iris Co. Ltd. Although the company wanted European designers, they were instead blessed with an Iowan.

After returning to Iowa, I went back to school and received a MA in fine art, specialty, metalsmithing and jewelry.

What kinds of mediums do you work in?

Mainly metals such as silver, copper, and titanium. I have been using recycled gold in my work recently. And no, not tooth fillings or the scraps you send to the TV ads. I start with solid 14k rings that have not been soldered or altered.

You have some beautiful and inspired jewelry design. Where do you find inspiration for your work?

Nature. Especially leaves. I love the beautiful, graceful forms. Since I don’t mass produce my work, each shape is cut out by hand and has unique form, like in nature.

Where can people buy your work?

Online through my website . I also participate in juried art festivals in the summer and fall. You can check my website for a schedule of events. Also, two galleries: Iowa Artisans Gallery in Iowa City, Iowa and Hearst Center for the Arts in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Environmental concerns are a big part of your art. How do you make the art work you do green?

I have been using recycled metals such as gold and copper wire from obsolete computer cords. The gold is purchased at thrift shops. A surprising number of people donate gold jewelry to thrift shops. My purchasing materials at thrift shops also benefits the community, since these stores donate their proceeds to charities. Discarded computer cords are way too abundant! Places such as Habitat Restore, a home goods store that benefits Habitat for Humanity, are overwhemed with cord donations. So reusable resources are out there.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an artist?

* Don’t hesitate to pursue art and don’t “buy into” the starving artist thing.
* Combine your love of art with another interest, such as environmentalism, science, math, etc. This will widen your horizon.
* Find a community of artists for inspiration and support. Meet other artists through taking or teaching classes, galleries, or joining guilds.
* It is also practical to take some business courses or entrepeneur workshops if you want to sell your work.

Someone very wise to me said recently that the people who succeed in a field are those who think they are the thing, rather than wanting to be the thing. The authority she cited was James Paul Gee, who has been talking a lot about the educational quality of video games. Hey, as someone who worked in literacy studies in college, I approve of James Paul Gee.

This made me think about the authorly self, and by extension, the artistic self.

I believe people grasp the idea that if you consider yourself an artist, you create. There are many people who have a hard time finishing a work for a variety of reasons. However, most of us grasp the art of creation, and all of the pitfalls, twists, and rewards therein. We understand often what it is to be an artist at the creative level, even if we don’t understand how our creativity works, or sometimes have trouble with making it work.

Sarah Prineas has often discussed the idea of being an author versus being a writer in her journal. The artist I’ve talked about above, the writer, generally creates, but isn’t necessary good at putting that creative work out there. I’ve heard many artists frustrated at the idea of presenting themselves, promoting themselves, managing themselves, and putting themselves out there. For many of us, it feels uncomfortable. That persona is the author.

I think it’s important to develop our authorly persona in conjunction with working on our writing. Not more important, because if you don’t have the work, you got nothin’ to be confident about. It is worth it to think about your professional persona and image as you build your work.

Continue reading “Your Writerly Sense of Self”

Ilona is back at it. I’ve added her latest two paragraph updates to the master post.

Not much else to say. Old car died this morning, and that’s kind of where I’ve been, and what I’ve been doing. Later, writers.

Catherine

Here’s our new first paragraph.

The wagon rattled through the wafting mists, gray and white pillowing around the driver. Wheels skipped over stones and roots. Horse hooves pounded somewhere behind him. Nick laughed like a hyena, snapped the horses with the tongue of his black whip, and surged the wagon ahead. His eyes flashed red and he smiled toothily. Nick’s broad-brimmed hat dripped with condensed water. It was the perfect end to a perfect evening.

I’m back to writing scene-by-scene, so we’re counting by scene now, in spite of what it says.

1 / 56 words. 2% done!

I hope all of you are enjoying your storytelling.

Catherine