Writer's Journal Wednesday, or not

I thought it might be a unique idea to use December 4th’s actual assignment from Amazon.com: The Aspiring Writer's Journal: Susie Morgenstern, Theresa Bronn: Books
You are bored to death.
Why?
Where are you?
Who are you with?

First, we are going to presume you are not bored to death, since you are reading this highly informative, albiet wrongly labeled blog. Did I mention that I thought today was Wednesday the 4th? It is not, it is Wednesday the 3rd. Oh well!

Being bored is a concept that I have never understood. I think it is less of an issue when you have grown up with less: less entertainment, less things, less neighbors, less tv, less—actually no computer and no video games and no DVD movies to watch whenever you want.

I had a homemade wooden square box to put my toys in, as a child. I think it was about 3’x3’. Things that did not go in it were few. We received the bulk of our toys, for the year, on Christmas. Birthdays were basically a one-gift deal and Easter was candy and trinkets. I never felt deprived, but then I didn’t watch tv with the thought of “I should own all of that.”

Maybe, because I had the most wonderful toy ever. I had a half acre of safe land to play on. There were clouds, trees, flowers, clover, a ditch, a bit of a hill from the house, sandbox, and swings. And, if the weather was bad, I could go inside and read or draw or write. How could anyone be bored in such a paradise?

I just cannot imagine ever being bored, even yet.

Textural quality in web design

My apologies, if you follow both this blog and Savanvleck’s Weblog on WordPress. This is the third post I have published on both sites. I did it for WordPress first and decided it was a fit for my marketing blogs here. I need to create my brand first, on my web page, I feel, in order to fit the rest of the net-world to it for my book. I am talking the blogs, MySpace and whatever else is out there waiting to challenge me.

I have designed my own web page for years and, believe it or not, I HAVE redesigned it several times. When I was creating eight inch fairies, and selling them on eBay, I realized it was time to again redesign my page. However, that web page, the one that was up there then and is still up now, has not been redesigned yet. I created it mainly for my painting, pottery and sculpture. pottery, painting, drawings, fairy, doll sculptures, by Sheryl Adair VanVleck

I use Coffee Cup Web Design and I could show you at least two dozen starts at a new web page for my site. And, now, like the paperwork in the Rubbermaids, it is time to again redesign my redesign I never did. My new focus is on my YA Fantasy Novel, and I am here to tell you exactly why this has become such a problem for me.

In fact, I will do better than that. If you click on this link, you will see just exactly why nothing I do lives up to this designer, in California: Welcome to Avalon Arts Studio!. If the textural quality of these web pages don't blow you away, nothing is going to impress you.

Just click on the Web Design tab about avalon arts web design and then click on their Porfolio. portfolio Some of my favorites are Enchants - faery sculptures by Christine Ruggle and The Faery Crossing-All Faeries, Sidhes, and Elfins Welcome! These sites present the true art of the miniature fairy artist and designing a web page, at its best. And, if I was still designing my web page for miniature fairys, I would be working on a design even half as rich as that forever, I am afraid.

So, it's a good thing I'm going for a site for my YA Fantasy Novel. I have finally confirmed the design in my head and am gathering my own graphics to do it. I'll keep you informed.

Waiting for Snow to fall

Okay, I have tackled, and not quite conquered ‘MySpace.’ www.myspace.com/savanvleck

Coffeee Cup for my web page is a breeze, WordPress was easy. Blogger was not bad. Then, there is MySpace.

I go to the Help button, after about six hours of searching, and find a message that says, “We do not help you with that, or that, or that.” In other words, ‘The heck with all of you.” Or “that’s what our subscribers are for” as they tell me that there are sites/people out there that you can get help from.

My sister has a niece who does it all for her. She just tells her what she wants and the niece does it. Perhaps it is just that our ‘older’ brains do not think in the same circle as younger brains. I am sure I will get used to it, eventually. I would be working on redoing my website, as I finally have the design I want pretty much figured out, but I need photos. I’m waiting for snow to fall in Indiana. Never thought I would say that!

So, when Gaffer gets here and it snows, we will make a trek out to Yellowwood State Forest and work on the trailer, for my YA Fantasy, as well as photos for my web page. I have the trailer written out but not drawn, scene by scene.

Then, I’m on my own again. Out of three boys, none of them is really involved in anything computer or internet related. I tried. I really did. Every semester it’s, “Aren’t you going to take web design or programming?” "Nope, not interested." They tell me.

However, I have not seen EMT’s full face, looking at me, since he bought a pay per use phone that has free unlimited text messaging.

Anyway, the status of my YA Fantasy Fiction is:

1. Chapter six edit off to Master’s Daughter, after Thanksgiving.
We decided to work on one chapter at a time, that way, if we find something that will affect the plot line, etc, we are not going over what we have already edited. I send her a chapter, she sends me back comments (I love WORD), I edit her comments and send her back the corrections, she emails me back notes. During that time, I am line editing the next chapter and beyond.
2. I need to work on the last two chapters more. They are very sketchy, but I think it will wait until we are at least in the middle of the book.
3. I want to brand my WebPage, my writing blog and MySpace when it snows and I have the photos I need.
4. I now need to learn, well actually, I still need to learn MySpace but it’s a start, but I need to check out Face Book or UTube, Twitter and everything else out there, I guess.
5. And, as far as Thanksgiving: We are putting the tree up today, for Mom to enjoy and Gaffer, when he gets home. I actually, also have my butter filling ready for Aunt Sally’s butter knot bread and my eggs boiled for deviled eggs. This year is a request Thanksgiving. Mom gets her ham and gravy. Boys get mashed potatoes and corn (don’t even ask), We all get Guacamole and chips and deviled eggs, and us adults get less work and less food to throw out. No one was eating dressing and sweet potatoes, but me and I don’t need them.

So, I wish you all a Great Thanksgiving. Travel safe and enjoy the company of relatives and friends. Mom emailed me this morning: “Life is too short, so why do people argue with their relatives?” I pointed out that we do not get to choose our relatives, but even if we did, we would probably still occasionally argue with them, just about different things.

WebPage, Blog, MySpace,UTube, Twitter, LibraryThing, Trailer

I have unchained myself from my computer. My final book edit is in Chapter 6 and while I do remind myself, daily, that the last two chapters are but a shadow of their selves-to-be, I am taking time to get my muscles moving again to de-clutter and clean this house.

It may be a hopeless task but I need to get it done. I mean, why do we need three scanners and VHS movies? Then, there is the ten Rubbermaids full of paperwork. Hard to believe isn’t it? It is also hard to get done as I am drawn back to the computer.

I have figured out the look I want for my WebSite. It will be a total overhaul from the Visual Art site it was before to the Fantasy YA book site I want it to be. It is also one more step up in my programming education. Which may be a career to fall back on someday?

So, I have a vision of a “look.” Then, I have to make that look work, and be a “brand” for my website, Blog, MySpace, Utube, Twitter and something called “library” something. And, when Gaffer gets home for Christmas, I will have him help me get a trailer done.

Since I have done nothing more than look at a few relatives MySpace and not even that on Utube, and I have no idea what Twitter is and just read about the library thing last night. I better get this declutter, in my home done, and quick.

Will I ever catch up?

The Orphan Boy- a Richly Textured Children's book

I love Picture Books

I have been known to take a canvas bag to the library and load it up with Caldecott winners. One of the things I miss most about having little grandkids around, is I have no one to read to. JRock is sixteen now and he just is not interested in King Bidgood anymore. I can have a blast making a total fool of myself reading King Bidgood's in the Bathtub. I will read to any child – at the Doctor’s office, at the library, on the bus. It makes no mind to me, as long as it is a good book.

Not all books are equal. Daughter-of-eleven loves books but has no distinction between them. She thinks that Barbie’s Picnic deserves shelf space with Matthew’s Dragon and anything by Audrey and Don Woods. I, however, refuse to read Barbie’s Picnic a second time.

One of my all time favorite children’s books is The Orphan Boy, A Maasai Story by Tololwa M. Mollel and illustrated by Paul Morin. Amazon.com: The Orphan Boy: Tololwa M. Mollel, Paul Morin: Books I am approaching this as a visual artist and this book has some of the most outstanding illustrations I have seen. It was published by Clarion Books, New York.

The back blurb reads: “At dawn the planet Venus appears in the east as the morning star. At night-fall it is the evening star in the west. The Maasaid call this star Kileken, the orphan boy. This traditional story from Africa explains the reason Kileken appears in the sky both morning and night.”

Beside the story, which is well worth reading, the illustrations are painted and the artist's canvas is visible to add texture to the pictures. This book is so richly textured that you can feel the heat of the African sun and the cool of the moonlit night. The canvas itself adds life to the morning sunrise. The artist has then added, perhaps using gesso with sticks or string or other additions, another dimension. I have scaned a few of the illustrations in, as Amazon does not do them justice.


This is but one half of the picture. I wish my scanner was larger to show it all. Note the texture in the foreground. The cattle go off into the sunset in the upper right corner.


I know the books binding here is in the way but the fabric and then the yellow highlighting to the right adds so much dimension, I wanted to show it.

This is also only part of a picture but I wanted you to see the way the artist has used texture in these illustrations.

Three things to get ready during your final edit

Master’s daughter and I are up to Chapter five in the final edit. In between the twenty other jobs she has at any one time, I am working ahead as the end of the book was less edited, by me, than the first half. And, when I take a break from that I read editor’s and agent’s blogs.

I am focusing on blogs that detail things like:

Writing the perfect Query letter- my favorite is Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent: Query Letter Mad Lib. He has several posts on writing a query.


The real chore for me is how to do write a synopsis. Author! Author! » Synopses is a good place to look. It is a blog that meandures a bit, but has a wealth of information for writers.


Putting together two writer's biographies. Author! Author! » Author bio has several blogs on writing your bio. They lay it out in a very simple manner.

A writer’s biography is something I had not thought a lot about. I have always had resumes and artist’s resumes. I had just not thought about needing to have your writer’s bio polished up and ready for submitting immediately. I guess I was thinking, you get an agent, you get a publisher, and somewhere along the way they say, “We need a bio for your flap copy, oh, in a few months.” Not so!!!

You need to have two ready. One for the agent to help sell you and one, shorter one, for your book flap. We are using positive reinforcement here.


I have noticed a change in author’s biographies. I am seeing more and more that represent the author’s writing, rather than just dryly saying, “He graduated from no-name college and lives in Nevada with his wife and three children.”

It is a great trend. It makes the author a real person and gives you insight into what his writing is like. My problem though, is I really think I am much funnier with my biography, than I am in my book. It is good I can see the humor in my life but is it going to give someone a false sense of the humor, which may not be there, in my book? I do not want to disappoint.

Wednesday's with Writer's Journal - Ideas

Okay, if you really want to get technical about this, it is Thursday. So shoot me! It has become more important to work on my edit than on my blog. This is a good thing and I am sure you will all understand.

With both the Journal, for January 2nd (still not going in order) and my edit in mind, the question for today is: Where do your ideas come from?

I think we all know that anything in our life can turn up in our writing. My current project was inspired by my grandson’s lives and the issue they deal with from their past home life. Prior to coming to live with us, these three boys were living in a radical home, were barely, or in the case of one, not home educated, they worked a man’s job from a young age and the abuse ranged from just plain weird to horrific.

In attempting to interest the thirteen year old into learning to read, I let him watch the first two Harry Potter movies. He loved them and he related to Harry. All those Dursley’s had their equivalent in his previous home. When he asked me to buy the third movie, I told him I would do so after we read the books. So, we set off on a journey to catch up. I would read a chapter at night and he would haltingly read a paragraph. He would often ask for a second chapter. He was enthralled with Harry's world. Three books letter and we purchased movie three. By the end of the series he was reading chapters.

I cannot take all the credit for this. He is a bright kid and the public school system worked hard to catch him up. But, watching these boys deal with all the educational and psychological issues they have, from their past life, is what is inspiring my book. Plus, okay, I admit it, I miss reading to him each evening.

The tv was turned off and everyone at home would listen. So, it was a nice family entertainment. I tried getting him involved in Terry Pratchett’s books but, he is on to sixteen year old entertainment now and cell phones and girls seem to take more of his time. His twenty-one year old brother loves them and got me reading them, it is just not the same.

I am way off topic here, as I tend to do when I talk about these boys. But, they are an inspiration for me.