That’s Sheep Rock in the background. Let’s zoom in:
See the “green clay” strata?
Don’t that take you back?
More about this site when I get back from my vacation.
NW Conquers a Petrified Log
Isn’t it beautiful? It looks exactly like wood from a distance, but I have touched it and I assure you it’s stone.
This is at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at the John Day Fossil Beds in central Oregon.
A Botany Lesson
Neanderthal Woman Climbs Black Butte
Here she is on top of lovely Black Butte in Sisters, Oregon. I think those are the Three Sisters in the background. The caterpillar is, of course, Neanderthal jewelry, sort of like an ear cuff.
Nimri Gets Digital
The Long Guest is now available as an e-book.
About Five Weeks off the Grid
Okay, perhaps I won’t be completely off the grid for the next five weeks … but I will take a hiatus from blogging. The last three weeks of June, plus the first two or so of July, will be taken up with family travels. As I don’t yet have pictures from those travels, I am giving you lots of nice nature pictures in this post to hold you over: old favorites from both Pexels and my own stash of photos.
Last time I went “off the grid,” I posted this log cabin. (Not my actual house.)
This year, during our travels, I’ll try to bring along Neanderthal Woman and get some pictures of her in various locations.
And yeah, I might do some gardening.
You may see a few blog posts go up while I’m gone. I have been trying to get The Long Guest converted to e-book format. If/when that succeeds, I’ll inform you via a post. I also have a special Muppet guest blogger planned for the Fourth of July.
Other than that … Have a great month! I hope you get to do lots of fun, summery things while I am doing same!
Misanthropic Author of the Week
Just so you know, I am now officially an independent author.
I know this because they let me join their Alliance.
Okay, okay, I had to pay to get in. But they don’t let just anybody join … I am pretty sure …
In all seriousness. If you look on the right side of my blog, you will see the ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors) badge. If you click on it, you’ll go to their web site. They offer a variety of services to author members, like contract reviews, cool badges, and how-to booklets on every imaginable topic relating to publishing. You can find their videos on YouTube as well. They seem like good people.
I, on the other hand … total misanthrope. Look at me, all bespectacled and stuff.
BEARS!!!
“Yellowstone park ranger fends off charging grizzly bear“
(Just as a reminder, the Proto-Indo-European word for bear was probably rtko-. Watch out for those rtko-.)
New FAQ from a Reader
A reader recently asked me this, and I have added it to my FAQs page.
Q. I’ve heard writers say “I was going to do X, but then the character did Y.” I always think, Wait, aren’t you the one who makes up what the character does?
A. Well, it may sound strange, but when we are writing fiction, the characters do “come to life” and do things the author wasn’t completely planning. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that if this does not happen, then the story is not working. All the richest parts of my own stories have come about as a result of this phenomenon.
Of course, the author still has to “make up” what the character is doing in a sense, and write it down. But it seems to come from somewhere else at the same time. This is similar to what happens to actors and musicians when they talk about “being in the zone.” They still have to play the notes or say the words, and they need to be talented and to have practiced. But something more is also going on. This is the reason that ancient poets and storytellers used to invoke the Muse before embarking on their art.
I’m not sure this phenomenon is experienced by every single fiction writer. Perhaps there are some very meticulous plotters who don’t experience this and who still write perfectly good books. But this “characters coming to life” thing is definitely a part of my own process, and I’ve heard many other authors talk about it, so I know I’m not the only one.
On a related note, I’ve heard that some people write up “character sheets” before they begin drafting their novel. They come up with details about the character’s personality, back story, etc. In my case, I don’t do this kind of thing before I start drafting; instead, it’s part of the drafting process. I observe how the characters react in the situations I place them, and they reveal back story as we go. It wasn’t until after writing The Long Guest, for example, that I was able to tell that Nirri is an ESTP on the Meyers-Briggs. And MBTI typing him, by then, was just more a silly, fun exercise than a part of character development.
Fellow authors, please chime in about whether and how you have experienced this phenomenon. Do you count on your characters coming to life during the drafting or outlining process? Or is it something that occasionally happens, and you enjoy, but that you can get through a novel without? Has a character ever become so recalcitrant that you had to re-work your entire plot?
Out of Babel Books 