Sunday

Overheard #192

"I was searching for a nice word for irrelevant."

New York, New York!

This afternoon, I leave for New York City with the high school choir. It should be a wonderful trip. There are a few blog post scheduled while I’m away, so I hope you’ll stop by Words and Pixels. See you next week.

Spirals

Talent Show

Last weekend I attended a talent show that was a fundraiser for the local schools. A middle school girl came out on stage and started to sing, not realizing that her microphone wasn’t working. The auditorium was large, and her voice was inaudible over the recorded accompaniment. About halfway through her song, someone found a functional mike, and she finished her performance with poise and grace.

It struck me that my career as an unpublished writer is much like this. I’m doing the moves, singing from my heart and trying to perfect the melody and rhythms, yet no one can hear. It’s starting to look like I’ll never get a microphone, but I’m still singing.

Sunday

These butterflies enjoy the lilacs.

backlighting 

Overheard #192

"If you’re not a thinking ball player, you’re not going to hit it out of the park."

Tracking Devices Revisited

I received a request for more information about micro tracking devices. Unfortunately, I don’t have many new facts. Commercially available tracing devices seem to be of two varieties: 1) small boxes equipped with magnets for attachment to cars and 2) collar tags designed to locate roaming pets. The grain-of-rice-sizedmicrochips that are injected under animals’ skin are used to identify lost pets once they are found. They need to be scanned at close range, and do not have a global positioning system (GPS) that could transmit the animal’s location. I read a spy novel in which the hero swallowed an encapsulated GPS before he was taken by the enemy. The book was fiction. I can’t verify whether the device was as well. 

The limitation on size reduction is probably the battery. The device swallowed by the spy wouldn’t have to transmit very long, because (without getting into gastrointestinal physiology) it wouldn’t stay with him. Pet collar and car tracking devices are larger because it is inconvenient to change batteries frequently.

Overheard #191

"I hate watching a computer think."

Color My World

My current project takes place in the distant past, so I’ve been investigating the fashions of the time. Everyone knows styles change, but colors have too. In previous eras, the range of available colors for clothing was limited because fabric was dyed with natural substances instead of chemical pigments. Here’s a timeline of the development of fabric colors. Further research taught me that during some periods of history, colors like Tyrian Purple or Imperial Yellow were limited to people of high status or rank. In addition, the names of colors have changed with time. This article explains the name of Thomas Lawrence’s famous painting, Pinkie, Homer’s “wine red sea” and the origin of the term brunette.

Sunday

The wind was blowing when I photographed these maple seeds, and I had to take many shots before I got one that was in focus. I love the light, and the colors proclaim spring.

Overheard #190

"You don’t know if you’ve gone far enough until you’ve gone too far."

Sunday

Our last photography class was a photo shoot at a local park. The sky was overcast, making the lighting flat. I wasn't very pleased with that day's efforts, but after freezing my fingers, I decided to post a couple.

I aimed at the pitcher plant, but I liked the water patterns more.

Overheard #189

"You don’t ask – you don’t get."

Writing Tips and the Dreaded Synopsis

Yesterday Barbara O’Conner posted on writing for kids. It’s all there in a nutshell.

Her advice also applies to writing a synopsis, especially her question, What is the story about?

I had an interesting experience at the Whole Novel Workshop. We had to submit 20 pages and a synopsis of our novels. In some cases, the story described in the synopsis differed significantly from the story told by the manuscript. That sounds impossible, but it happened. Writing a synopsis is difficult, and it’s tempting to get distracted by subplots and tangents.

The part I found most disconcerting was that I tended to believe the synopsis over the manuscript, and based my critique on what the author said she was going to write instead of what she wrote. This was the wrong approach. Of course, some manuscripts (or maybe all manuscripts in early drafts) meander before they get to the substance of the story. Once we determined what the novel was really about, the direction for revision became obvious.

Sunday

This was a case where decorum affected the photographs. For some reason, I felt it was okay for me to go into a neighbor's driveway and shoot up at this weeping cherry, but not okay for me to walk onto their lawn and photograph the blossoms straight on. The flowers are backlit, but I like the contrast of dark and light.

Overheard #188

"You've gotta swing for the fences."

Rethinking Boredom

Earlier this week, in my post about The Call to Adventure, and I said that boredom was not a good enough reason to embark on the hero’s journey. Lori pointed out that bored kids can get into a lot of trouble. Too true. When my boys were young and bored on some errand with me, they made their own fun. This was rarely a serene time.

I have read a few YA novels in which the protagonist was bored, got in trouble and had to face some sort of punishment. In these stories, the penance provided an opportunity for the hero to experience the Call to Adventure, so leaving on the journey was a multi-step process.

In other novels, boredom is insidious. The protagonist doesn’t even realize he or she is bored until the siren song of adventure calls. Think of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit or Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island. Although in both novels, the lure of adventure was enhanced by the possibility of finding a treasure.

I retract my comment about boredom. It can be an aspect of the Call to Adventure.

Tripping the Light Begonia

Here's some homework I did for my photography class. Our begonias are still blooming, so I decided to shoot them again and play with exposure.

The begonias love the filtered light that comes through this rice paper screen. I liked it for a backdrop.

The stems caught the light (and the focus).

Under-exposed, but interesting.

Very under-exposed, but sparkley.

The Call To Adventure

Many novels are modeled on the Hero’s Journey whether the expedition is a classic adventure or an internal transformation. Lately, I’ve been thinking about The Call to Adventure and what causes a character to leave a safe, secure and familiar world to embark into the unknown, face danger and return changed.

The hero doesn’t go for funsies.

The hero doesn’t go because he or she is bored.

The hero must be compelled to go. The stakes must be high. The known world or the hero might be threatened, and only the hero can solve this problem. Sometimes the known world is terrible, and the adventure is the only means of escape, gaining wisdom or finding salvation. The hero must be faced with an unbearable choice. Going may be terrifying, but staying is impossible.

Otherwise, there is no reason to leave.

Otherwise, there might not be a reason to write the novel.

I’m currently planning a new project, and any day now, I’ll figure out my Call to Adventure.

I hope.