Pamela Kay Hawkins's Blog

I must apologize for not writing on this blog for a while, but I am not a daily blogger. I tend to avoid the Internet as much as possible, so that I can write, read, paint, and actually talk to people IRL. (Just to let you know, I am no longer on Facebook, but I kept my Twitter account, so that when I just can’t take it anymore, I can jump in and out quickly.)

I am still available here, so I’d love to hear from anyone who feels inclined to comment.

As to what I have been doing? I’ve been spending time with two of my granddaughters and reading up a storm. (I must confess to a brief hiatus from painting, but I’ll show you what I’ve been working on at a later date.)  I’ve also been listening occasionally to Alistair Begg (on YouTube) whom I can actually recommend to Christians who enjoy Biblical teaching. He and I disagree only occasionally… . I love to hear someone else’s teaching and another voice besides my own!

What have I been reading? I have been re-reading William Horwood’s classic, Duncton Wood (1982), and its sequel, Quest for Duncton. It seems that while I thought Horwood had written one book about the Duncton moles, he added several novels to the now series. Great reading. I also read his Stoner Eagles that I consider a masterpiece. Those are the standouts so far.

I also managed to enter both of my novels into The BookLife Prize for an outside chance at the prize and an opportunity to have someone from Publishers Weekly critique them.  I shall share their comments on A Defect of Character in another post, but suffice it to say that I am pleased. I am still waiting for their take on The Girl in the Back of the Room. (FYI: I have removed both books from Kindle’s exclusive, although both books are available as Kindle downloads, and trade paperbacks online from Amazon and from Barnes and Noble.)

My husband and I are going on vacation shortly, but I shall try to take that opportunity to cogitate on things interesting and varied. I shall certainly attempt to write here more frequently.

Until the next time…

 

I have been quietly irritated with the prevailing “political correctness (PC)” movement for years.  I cannot be quiet any longer.

This practice of “correcting” perfectly good words in the attempt to be more kind, considerate, and tolerant is soul-destroying.  There is a reason that” …In the beginning there was The Word…”, not some meaningless drivel which every thinking person knows are euphemisms for the right words.  Why was the Word in the beginning?  Because words create.  The right words can heal, empower, enlighten, and spur imagination to soaring heights.  Euphemisms turn brains into mush, replace thinking with mindless reaction, and attack the very core of sentient beings:  the ability to think for ourselves and make decisions based on faith, fact, and actions that have not been sanitized for popular consumption.

If you call black white, is it then white?  No.  It’s still black, but your hearer may be deceived.  Conversely, if something is white, and you decide to spray paint it black, is it?  No.  It’s still white, but someone has gone to a lot of trouble to cover that up, and we all know about cover-ups, don’t we?

Who was the brilliant person who thought taking away truth from the classroom was an aid to learning?  How do you educate, in the purest sense of the word, if your aim is to preach revisionist concepts and destroy the ability to think in your students?  But perhaps I’m being too harsh.  Perhaps good teachers manage to foster thinking covertly, but isn’t it horrible that doing so requires undercover operations?

I am amazed at how quickly the ability to think, reason, and act for ourselves has been usurped by this God-forsaken need to misname and misrepresent.  Add to this the ubiquitous call of technology–cell phones, computers, etc.–and you have the recipe for the disaster that our nation’s population currently enjoys in the destruction of verbal and written communication–simple but vital communication between parents and children, children and friends, teachers and students, between friends, and actual and prayerful communication with God, without Whom we can do nothing.

And this last is the most important:  if you are not honest in your words with which you think and speak, how can you then be honest with yourself and with God?  For those of you who do not know Him, be assured that He knows you, and that while His Grace is still available to everyone, His is the one opinion that matters for your eternity, and God does not use the mincing language of deception.

 

Full disclosure:  I saw the very first movie of Star Wars.  Yes, I’m that old.  All three of my sons were taken to each new Star Wars movie the moment it came to our city.  My youngest remembers being very little indeed.  Christmas gifts were easy, unless you wanted a Darth Vader action figure, then it was less easy–a lot less.

Now the full, live action movies are back, along with Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford from the original, with quite talented young actors in the lead roles.  The theaters are sold out, repeatedly.  My husband and I got tickets which I thought were in the very back row, but they turned out to be located on the very first row, so I spent a lot of time turning my head to keep track of actors whose lips were gigantic, and a bit disconcerting.  I shall return, much like the series.

All of this background brings me to my point, which is that Star Wars continues to fill seats in theaters, now populated by at least three generations of fans.  But the question is why?

George Lucas is a master storyteller, as well as a wizard with special effects.  It is the story, the inherent morality of the entire series which draws the audiences.  His characters live; their problems are real. This time around, J. J. Abrams, and Lawrence Kasdan joined Lucas in writing the script.  How good can it get?  Each one of these men is a master storyteller in his own right.  And it’s the story and the characters’ journeys that matter.

Yes, there is a galaxy–or two or three–far, far away.  Yes, there are characters who are a bit weird, in both good and bad ways.  But there is a huge clash between Good and Evil in every one of the movies.  There are important decisions that the main characters have to make, in order to survive at times, yes, but mostly there are question of choosing the Light over the Dark side in both small and large ways.  And all these small decisions add up.

I hate spoilers, so there are none in this post/musing.   Go see the movie if you haven’t yet.   But I think as writers, one has to be impressed with the high stakes the writers make their characters face.

People, as well as characters, are tested in crises to find out what they’re made of.  No crisis, not much character development.  But you don’t have to face a zombie army, a nest of vampires, a pack of werewolves to know that the most interesting characters make the hardest choices.

I try to make my characters face crises of the everyday ilk.  How they choose and why they choose and what they do with their decisions add up to who they are.  If they grow enough, they just might end up being as close to real as I can make them.  At any rate, that’s the plan, and I blame Star Wars . . .

 

 

As a reader, I often wondered at the myriad characters, plot twists, and details my favorite authors wove into their books. Now that I, too, am an author (I've been a writer for eons, but now my books are out, so I'm an author), I know that writing all that is just weird.

What am I talking about? Let me give you a few examples.

Yesterday I had coffee with three friends; one of them is a writer, Lane Dolly (check out her books). I don't remember how it happened, but we began to talk about how vocabulary (Lane's) and details (mine) showed up in our writing, when consciously we had no knowledge of those things until we saw them on the page.

I asked Lane if the strange vocabulary was specific to a character. She said it was, and my details of murdering and 1920s planes were, too. I had no better idea of where that knowledge came from than Lane, but I think it must be that the characters knew, and they managed to let us in on a few secrets as we wrote. Most likely in appreciation for creating them.

I used to marvel at writers who told me that their characters just appeared on the page and told their writers what they should be doing. Now I know they were telling the truth.

Which brings up a troubling question: do the characters create their writer instead of the other way around?

Well, I decided to plunge into the Amazon marketing world with my FIRST EVER COUNTDOWN PROMO for my novel A DEFECT OF CHARACTER.

It starts Nov. 1 and runs until Nov. 8.

We shall see what transpires.

After missed deadlines, the coming of age story (see Sept 6 Musing) is finally published and on Amazon.com as a paperback. Kindle version due out soon. Give it about two months and it will be everywhere!

When I was little, everyone knew The Golden Rule:  “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”  If there is anyone under the age of 35 who knows it now, they’ve most likely heard various “interpretations” of it, e. g., “do unto others before they can do unto you,” which are not at all correct, but this discrepancy does point up the topic of today’s musing.

By now, you’re probably wondering what this has to do with writing.  A lot.  For when you’ve finally put down your pen (computer/mobile device/mouse/stylus, etc.) , and your work is published (hurrah!), you will need to remember The Golden Rule when you’re trying to publicize your work.

If you want others to write reviews of your work and readers to buy it, then you must be willing to review the works of other writers, purchase their works, and be honest and helpful with your criticism.

I believe I’ve spoken about the flaws in the five star rating system, but you can still be honest without cutting out someone’s heart. . . which reminds me of the huntsman in “Snow White.”  If no other heart is available as a substitute for the writer’s heart,  my suggestion is to find some solid words of praise to season your review; some words of hope.

If you’ve truly hated their work, you might want to refrain from reviewing it at all.  My grandmother used to say, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  This is an application of the Golden Rule, which is not to be confused with the Golden Mean, which may be a topic for another day.

 

A writer I greatly admire complained recently on Facebook of writer’s block.  She asked for her writer friends to help, and I read most of their comments.  Most were encouraging, saying that they knew she’d be back writing soon.  Some facetious comments concerned taking turns nagging her to get with it.  No one asked why she was having so much trouble.  Was she missing a fact? a way of approaching a critical scene?  What was it?

But that was the practical approach:  What is the writing problem?  OK, how do we solve it?  Insert answer here.  Problem solved.

Then there’s another approach to writer’s block that has nothing to do with writing:  identifying the cause behind it.  If it’s not the actual writing problem, then what is it?  Perhaps you’re just tired.  Perhaps you think that there might be a better use of your time.  Perhaps others are suggesting that you might put your talents to better use.  Perhaps you’re discouraged, or worse, depressed.

Depression is ugly and a time-robber.  There are innumerable causes for it other than chemical imbalance or mental illness.  But I’m not here to diagnose it, I’m here to talk about getting around it, if there is no medical reason for it.

I’m quite good at talking myself out of anything (and into anything, if I’m not careful), and it’s part of my ability to write.  Imagination, for good or ill, can be a powerful tool.  When I think of depression or writer’s block and the practical approach is not working, I imagine a force who is willfully attempting to keep me from writing, to keep me from doing what I actually love doing by convincing me of all the negatives I most fear (fear is also a diabolical force which robs and cheats).  It is an entity trying to convince me that I can’t, I’m not good enough, I can’t write as well as…(fill in the blank), etc.  But that’s the impetus I need to get off my couch and fight.  It is not within me; it’s a force outside me trying to hinder my progress, my work–a force willing me to fail.  So I won’t.  (I’m contrary that way, and it’s been a saving grace too many times to count.)  That’s the fighter in me.

The other tool I have in my box of writer’s block fixes is this:  I follow my mentor, Jack Bickham’s advice.  He used to say that imagination (writing problem solving) is a muscle.  And like the other muscles in our bodies, it dislikes being used.  However, the more you exercise it, the easier it becomes to access.

He suggested sitting down with whatever writing tool and in whatever place you most like to write, preferably at the same time each day, and start putting anything down on paper or computer screen.  It doesn’t have to make sense; it doesn’t have to be good; it just has to be written, and your bottom has to be in that chair for a specific time before you stop (longer than 30 minutes, less than 24 hours).

Eventually, you find that instead of drivel, you’re actually writing some things that aren’t too bad.  Do this on a regular basis and the moment you sit down, the brain kicks in–the sooner it kicks in, the sooner you’ll be finished for the day.  I know it sounds too easy, but it works.  You’ll never have writer’s block if you follow Jack’s advice.  I know.

If that fails, try the Nike slogan:  Just do it!

 

You may not know the word in the title:  I made it up.  Personification didn’t seem right when discussing the California ground squirrel (CGS) that has invaded my lovely Fortress of Solitude in Colorado.

It is unusual for me to be shocked by greed exhibited in nature, but the California ground squirrel has done it.

I arrived here about six weeks ago and put out birdseed for the birds.  I knew I’d have to fight the squirrels (tree squirrels), but I had not counted on the California cousin invasion.  Here was a cute creature, larger than a chipmunk by far, but differing in markings and habits from the squirrels I was used to.  I looked it up.  AHA!  A California ground squirrel . . .

Then I started noticing that even normal squirrels avoided this ravenous cousin.  Ravenous.  Yes, that’s the word.  Cheeks filled to a capacity that I would have thought impossible had I not seen it.  At first, it climbed the feeder and ate up everything in sight, so I looked up ways to discourage squirrels from plundering birdfeeders.  AHA!  Petroleum jelly mixed with cayenne pepper and spread on the pole!  I did it, and it worked . . . for a while.

(Let me stop here and say that I normally spread a bowl full of food for those creatures who feed on the ground.)

But this California pest learns quickly.  It noticed some smaller relations climbing the house and jumping onto the top feeder.  Too fat to make great progress, it nevertheless persevered, jumped, and consumed every bit of food on the feeder, resorting to wrapping its gargantuan body (for a squirrel) around the lower feeder.

I stopped putting food out for days, hoping it would get the hint.  But when I started again, its telegraph network worked quickly, and back it was, twice the size of when I’d arrived.  (I confess I have now developed an acute aversion to this animal.)

I resorted to force, as noise didn’t work at all.  (This creature is aggressive as well as greedy.  You really don’t want to get between it and its perceived food.)  So, I took one of my walking staffs and chucked it at the feeder while the CGS was devouring any crumb on the feeder.  My aim was surprisingly accurate, and I followed it up with another staff thrown at the paused intruder.  It ran!  Yay!  But then it came back.  It seems if you don’t actually hit the vermin, it decides you aren’t serious.

According to one of my neighbors, the increase in vermin–squirrels, rabbits, and these obnoxious things–is due to the absence of foxes and coyotes.  It seems there was an epidemic of rabies (another reason to hate these things) which decimated their natural predators.  (Squirrels, rabbits, mice, rats, etc., carry rabies and plague, yes, plague, so you really don’t want to have them overrunning the country.)

I am now in need of a new population of foxes, coyotes, and mountain lions.   Or Californians who miss this lovely animal . . . Perhaps, we could do without an influx of mountain lions . . .

 

Ah, I’m afraid that title is somewhat misleading.  I’m not at all certain that it is possible to publicize your writing by yourself without losing your sanity, your creativity, and lots and lots of time.

That little phrase “by yourself” is the key, here.

Unless you want to devote all of your time and energy to posting on Twitter, Facebook, etc., and promoting your work ad nauseum, you must have help.  I have found that Books Go Social (Google them) is quite helpful, and Writers’ Relief offers a lot in the way of getting your work to literary agents, etc.  I was amazed when I posted my first promotional tweet how many companies popped up offering to help me.  You’ll just have to research the ones that are the best fit for you.

Posting excerpts from your work and having feeds of them to the social media is also more helpful than you might realize (I certainly didn’t).  And then there’s the definite plus of having your own website, a presence on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

I’m afraid that I don’t do all that I should to publicize my work, but I’m really trying to get some work done.  I’ve been told that to be successful in touting your books, etc., in social media, you should allow at least one set hour per day for the task.  I must be honest:  I have failed.  I do not have a set hour, and, as a result, I’ve lost hours of time.

(I really should try that one set hour idea . . .)