Two is one

Posted on February 10, 2014 by ginachoward

computer keysGary was right. I need to swap my chapters.

As I’ve gotten further into what was to have been my second chapter, I realize that it sets up the action and engages the readers from the start. They learn of people who have exhibited a range of symptoms, symptoms so varied that the illnesses are assumed to be routine. Until someone notices a pattern.

Severe nausea and diarrhea in Iowa City; cramps and convulsions in Cedar Rapids; disorientation and hallucinations in Marshalltown. Flukes. Random hospitalizations every few months or weeks for a year, not only in those cities, but in Des Moines; Bettendorf and Dubuque. And then Thomas Sauk, Clinton’s commissioner of veteran affairs, had died and someone connected the dots. All the victims – and they were now being considered victims – had a connection to veterans’ centers or clinics.

Yes, that’s a better beginning than the Father Francis chapter is, much as I’ve grown to care about him. So, I’ll continue writing about what Janelle knows and what she’ll do when she gets to Iowa. It will be my first chapter, and the one in which I introduce Father Francis will become Chapter Two.

That sets up a good segue to Chapter Three, which is still a long way off. In that chapter, Father Francis and Janelle meet. She’ll interview him, size him up and learn what she can to begin putting the puzzle of truth together.

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Chapter two (or one)

Posted on February 4, 2014 by ginachoward

mantypingOr maybe it will be Chapter One. I sent the first chapter of An American Terrorist to a fellow writer for some feedback. One of my faults (or virtues, depending on the perspective) is that I re-write ad nauseam, knowing that it can always be better. While that might be the case, I have to stop at some point to find out if it’s good enough. For that I need critiques.

So, I asked Gary V. Powell, author of Lucky Bastard (published by Main Street Rag), to give me his honest, unvarnished, no-holds-barred opinion. This brings me to another one of my faults/virtues. I tend to start slowly. Rather than jumping into the action like the opening scene of a movie, I build characters and setting, letting the action evolve “naturally.” Gary suggested I get straight to it and start the book with Janelle.

I might. Or not. First, I have to write my second-that-might-be-the-first chapter that features Janelle. (I explain further in the book why she goes by “Jan.”) I’ve begun the – although I’m sure I’ll rewrite it. See what you think:

Jan Martin felt the familiar electricity. It always started as a buzzing in her head. By the time she reached her destination, her entire body would be tingling. As a child, she had exploded from the family minivan as soon as her father had turned off the engine in the pine needle-covered parking lot at the Illiniwek Forest Preserve. So eager was she to hike, fish, pet the horses, watch a ballgame and fish that she ran in circles, uncertain of which to do first.

She couldn’t run in circles when she reached Clinton; she couldn’t afford a misstep.

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One is done

Posted on January 28, 2014 by ginachoward

Chapter OneI finally finished the first chapter, after surmounting one little glitch.

Some of you might remember the bad-old days of computers. The days when crashes were frequent, and hours of work were lost forever. As rare as those occurrences are today, they still happen. Usually because of operator error. Often when that operator is distracted or disrupted and thinks she has saved hours worth of work, but hasn’t. Or when she has cut a passage, intending to paste and rework it somewhere else, but then gets engrossed in editing another section and cuts a different passage, thus losing the previously cut passage. Then she repeats this very bad behavior several times. Of course, all is not really lost. It’s retrievable through the magic “undo” arrow. But, that’s contingent upon the writer/editor being aware something needs to be undone before it’s lost in the maze of multiple edits.

However, with perseverance and a vague memory of what was written before, this little glitch was overcome and the first draft of the first chapter was completed. Hours after it should have been.

The first chapter ends with Father Francis awaiting Janelle’s arrival and wondering what exactly he’ll tell her.

“At the time, the series of confession hadn’t seemed unusual. They only became so in hindsight, and even now, he wasn’t sure that they were. A new context had changed his interpretation, and it was unclear to him which interpretation was correct. That’s what made it so difficult to know what, if anything, he should do.

For the last year, the young man’s words had been niggling in a corner of his mind, but he hadn’t felt pushed to do anything. Then last month, the reporter had called and asked to talk to him.

And he’d said yes.”

I’m sure before I jump into the second chapter, I’ll massage the first. But when I cut, I’ll paste it somewhere until I’m sure I want to delete it. And if I rephrase or reword, you better believe that I’ll be saving and saving often. And just to be on the extra safe side, I’ve saved what I’ve written so far on a thumb drive.

Now on to Chapter Two.

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Writing on deadline

Posted on January 21, 2014 by ginachoward

mantypingI’m very good at writing on deadline, and no, I didn’t finish the first chapter – but I’m close. You see, although I set myself a deadline, there were no consequences for not meeting it. Oh, I had lots of reasons that I didn’t meet it. I had to interview some people. I had materials to review. I had an agenda to prepare. All true, but they are just excuses. The real reason is that all those other tasks had real deadlines.

I know several people who are prodigious writers. They set daily goals for themselves and meet them. I did that – and still do – when I have a drop-dead deadline.

In thinking about my writing habits, I had some other thoughts as well:

  1. I do not like sitting at a computer when it’s (relatively) warm and the sun is out.
  2. I will find every excuse imaginable not to sit at a computer when the sun is out.
  3. I think best when in motion.
  4. Coffee makes me happy.
  5. Writing makes me happy.
  6. Once I start writing, I lose my sense of time and place.

With those insights, I have come up with my guaranteed personal writing formula:

  1. On nice days, be as active as possible outside.
  2. Drink coffee.
  3. Think about characters/plot during outside activities.
  4. Fire up computer and write.
  5. Have a deadline with consequences – a critique group, a contest – anything that requires me to finish writing a set amount by a defined time.

As long as I have a deadline, I will skip numbers 1-3 and go straight to #4. And I will be happy.

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Father Francis grows up

Posted on January 14, 2014 by ginachoward

priest_holdingup_chalice_redNow that holidays are over and the end-of/beginning-of-year responsibilities are behind me, I’ve hunkered down to write. Finally. I’m determined that by the end of the week, I’ll have completed the first chapter that sets up life in Clinton and gives the reader insight into Father Francis.

In this part of the chapter, Father Francis is on his first assignment. In the initial years, his pastor protects the young priest’s idealism by telling him to minister to the children. But for Father Francis to grow as a priest, he has to face reality:

“He watched Anna outgrow her fear of worms and Paul extend offers of help not just to his classmates, but to his teachers and others in the community. Guiding the children as they developed into responsible teens – at least for the most part – was like being an uncle to hundreds of nieces and nephews. He had formed friendly relationships with their parents and grandparents. Clinton seemed to be a Norman Rockwell town with families that were good, even if they were not perfect.

Once, he had regaled a policeman with the cut-throat exploits of the Trinity Elementary wrapping paper sales competition. The officer had looked at him oddly. “It’s nice to hear that there is good in the community,” he had told Father Francis. “All I see is the dark side of human nature.”

He hadn’t understood at the time. But he did now.

He had grown up those last two years of his first stint at St. Boniface. At some point, Father Ambrose must have judged that like the children he mentored, Father Francis was ready to be eased into the world of adults. Instead of listening to the trespasses of children, he began hearing the confessions of adults.”

The rest of the chapter will hint at what he learns that helps color his activities during his second tour at St. Boniface more than a decade later.

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The original

Posted on January 6, 2014 by ginachoward

TheBookThiefWe writers can learn from others – effective use of verbs, similes, foreshadowing, characterization and other literary arts. But to truly develop our talents and perfect our craft, we must find our unique voices.

Before ghostwriting speeches or articles, I often sit with and listen to the people whose voices I will capture. As much as possible, the words I write are ones they would use to iterate their ideas. The personalities the pieces evoke are theirs, not mine.

I thought of this as I turned the last page of The Book Thief.  Throughout it, I savored not only the well-told story, but Markus Zusak’s artistry in its telling. I want to master the language as well as he does, to be able to choose and position words – sometimes in unexpected ways – to paint rich visuals, moods, and characters with a pen’s stroke, rather than a broad brush.

Even as I thought this, I realized his way is not my way. His voice is not mine. Originals – in music, literature, film, dance or any of the arts – are celebrated, in part, because they are unique and authentic. Inevitably, soon after they burst on the public consciousness, there’s a rush of pale knock-offs that ride the well-worn coattails of success. These “in-the-style-of” artists eventually are relegated to footnotes in their fields.

I might never have a breakaway success, but I will not be a footnote. Finding my unique voice is a slow process, but when it emerges, it will be strong. And it will be authentic.

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Sowing light in darkness

Posted on December 31, 2013 by ginachoward

YoungWomanHagThe last time I touched base with Fr. Francis, he was in the rectory’s living room, thinking back to the first time he was assigned to St. Boniface parish. Over the years, disappointments, disillusionments and distress at learning things he’d rather not know have nibbled away at the priest’s optimism. Physical, emotional and psychological losses piled one atop another. He experienced what we all do, life’s gritty reality fraying our innocence and wearing us down.

With each year, this season of giving makes losses all the sharper. As we pack up handmade ornaments and holiday décor, each with its own story, we put our memories back in the closet for another year. But the Prayer of St. Francis chides us not to seek to be consoled but to console; to be understood but to understand. “For it is in giving that we receive.”

How we deal with life’s losses is up to us. It’s one of the reasons that his namesake’s prayer is the priest’s favorite. It acknowledges our darker tendencies, but with help, whether temporal or divine, our better selves triumph. Pardon as response to injury. Hope over despair. Positives and negatives. It’s like one of those optical illusions in which you can see a beautiful young woman or an old hag, depending on how you look at it. Life as a glass half full or half empty.

Fr. Francis will make choices in Clifton that are influenced by experiences and tempered by prayer.

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Closing in on dreams

Posted on December 16, 2013 by ginachoward

Sunset“Leaving to pursue other interests” usually is a euphemism for someone who did not leave a job voluntarily. However, I actually am leaving my job to pursue other interests: spending more time with family, tackling all those DIY projects that I keep thinking I’ll get to, taking time for lunch rather than eating at my desk while checking email (or while walking from the kitchen to my office), sitting on the deck with a glass of wine and listening to the wind, riding my bike, exploring other places – and writing in my own voice each day.

That’s the dream anyway. In reality, I’ll be doing contract writing part time and fitting my “other interests” in as I can. But the time will be mine. Sure, I’ll have deadlines, but I will be able to determine when and where I write – and when I’m writing for hire and writing for myself.

Henry David Thoreau said that “if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

So, I’m making that leap of faith and advancing confidently towards my dreams. I might not get there, but as Thoreau said, it’s the only way to get close. And I’ll do that.

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Tis the season

Posted on December 9, 2013 by ginachoward

wreathI always feel crafty this time of year. The artistic gene is part of my family’s DNA. My son made a porcelain alligator vessel when he was 10. My daughter is as adept at making photo-like collages as she is at creating jewelry. My sister’s, nephews’ and grandmother’s artwork cover the walls and furniture in our houses, and my great-grandmother designed ladies hats. Me? A four-year-old draws better stick figures than I do.

Nonetheless, like all my family members, I have an urge – no, a need – to create. Being December, I turned my hand to a Christmas wreath. Surely, even I could bend branches into a circle and add a bunch of pine cones.

  • Revelation #1: Branches fight back.
  • Revelation #2: Sap is a highly effective weapon.
  • Revelation #3: Fingers that stick to branches, wire and each other are not effective weapons.

We fought each other for three hours, then I brought in the big guns, shears actually. I cut those branches down to size and filled in the gaps with the trimmings.

I hung the wreath on the front door, and it doesn’t look bad. From the road. If you drive fast.

I think I’ll stick to writing.

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Better than a Swiss Army knife

Posted on December 2, 2013 by ginachoward

duck tapeIf I had to name the one thing that was both extremely useful and very cool, it would be Duck Tape. I just love Duck Tape! So, you can imagine my euphoria – and that’s no exaggeration – when I discovered that Duck Tape is made right here in North Carolina. Not only that, but it is made in Charlotte USA.

My assignment was to write an article for US Airways magazine on innovation in the Charlotte region. So, I started to canvass my co-workers. What really unique innovations are taking place here? They suggested some neat university and corporate R&D, nutrition studies at the North Carolina Research Campus, and a number of start-ups that were commercializing discoveries. Great ideas all, but I was looking for something that no other state, no other region could claim. Something that would make all those people flying US Airways throughout the world pick up the magazine and read about companies in the Charlotte region.

Then we nailed it: T1Visions, a young UNC Charlotte-birthed company that has made a reality of the touch-screen walls that Tom Cruise fictionally demoed in Minority Report, and Shurtape, an old company that not only modernized Duck Tape, but made it trendy.

I hope you enjoy reading “Imagination unbound” as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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