Of Weather and Writing by Bonnie Le Hamilton

Well, here it is the middle of July, and there are heat advisories out for my area. Yes, my area. I do not want to know how bad it is in Vegas. Though I get the feeling it’s cooler here than down south in Vegas. So, I’m not going to complain too much.

And if that wasn’t enough, I’ve got a much longer tale of woe. Starting with I am on IV antibiotics, again. Yip, I spent another three days in the hospital, for the same reason as last time. At least this time they didn’t need to cut open my ankle. I can count that as a blessing.

However, my poor cat is so stressed out about me being gone that long, he’s pulling his hair out again. And I haven’t even finished with all my problems.

I was still in the hospital when my landlord called me and because he hadn’t as yet received the one hundred dollars of my rent my local church leader promised to pay for me. I had already paid five hundred dollars, and he threatened me with eviction over one hundred dollars!

Let alone it turned out that my landlord is stubbornly refusing to present my local church leader with an invoice for the amount I need help with before he gets the money, yet our rules say we need the invoice before a check can be sent, and my landlord has been told this.

And now I’m going to need church help with rent next month, as in for all of it, just like last time I ended up in the hospital, I’m not going to have enough money to meet all my bills. Just great.

And then, two days after I got home, my landlord up and surprises everyone in the building by putting up a for sale sign! Wonderful. This is the cheapest place in town that isn’t subsidized housing. It is also a dump with an access road badly in need of repaving. My hope is it doesn’t sell anytime soon, especially since every place in town has long waiting lists, and one-bedrooms around here are going for more than my two-bedroom. I have no savings for things like the deposit and the first month’s rent.

Anyway, between more doctor’s visits (I am now seeing my podiatrist regularly as well as my primary) and trying to bury myself in reading to take my mind off my worries (starting before the issues with the landlord) I haven’t done any writing or editing in a week or more. I have been rereading the few Linda Goodnight books I have on my reader.

At least when I asked my friend to take me to the ER this last time, I decided to be prepared for an overnight stay. I packed my laptop, my reader, and my phone along with all their chargers into my backpack. I also packed my eyeglass case and a few other things. And I’m glad I did.

The problem is I never once took my laptop out of the bag! I just read my books. I really need to finish editing my sci-fi manuscript. Then again, right before my foot got so bad again, I discovered that I’d somehow lost a scene I know I wrote. I don’t have it anywhere, and it was so good! Now I have to rewrite it from memory.

I hate having to do that.

And I have no idea how I lost it unless I just failed to save those changes. I have had issues lately about having several versions of the manuscript, and I honestly think I either didn’t save that scene or when I was confronted with two files of the same name, I mistakenly saved the older file, not the newer one. I’m sure it’s something like that because I’ve had that issue a few times before, I finally renamed the file I was working on by adding the word “current” to the file to save it when that happened the last time, but that version clearly didn’t have this really good scene in it.

Between wishing I didn’t have to start from scratch on that scene and trying to stay cool in this heat wave (Konnie, I don’t want to hear how bad you have it. This is hot here and I no longer have trees shading my apartment!) I hate triple-digit temps. They are awful.

Plus, I’ve been thinking more about a couple of my romance manuscripts than I have my sci-fi. Maybe I should stop reading romances and dig out my sci-fi novels instead. Maybe that will get me back into my sci-fi, even though I read more mysteries than anything, and I can’t write those!

Anyway, happy writing everyone!

Of Energy and Obstacles by Konnie Enos

 

I was feeling industrious Monday and decided to get some laundry done.

First, I stripped my bed and otherwise gathered sheets, pillowcases, and blankets that needed washing. Due to the size of the blankets, I had two loads. Only then did I think to check if the washer was in use.

I was in luck. It was empty. I dumped the first load in the machine then went and gathered two more loads of laundry.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it, but because of my lack of stature, I cannot retrieve anything from the bottom of the washer. Switching that first load to the dryer required getting help from a family member. This time Melinda assisted me.

I put the first load in the dryer and then dumped the second load in. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to switch the loads because I often have to wait for assistance with emptying the washer. However, on Monday, I was able to get both loads of bedding into the dryer and back out again, and my third load into the dryer with a fourth load in the washer.

Now, I had managed to strip the bed without Jerry’s help, but making a bed is so much easier if I have help. While I was busy doing something on my computer and had several things spread on the still unmade bed, he decided he was too tired to wait for me to finish or make the bed. He was fast asleep before I could think to put away everything. So we ended up sleeping without sheets and the washer was still going when I went to bed.

On Tuesday morning, Royce mentioned needing to do a load of laundry. I explained that I had a load in both machines and gave him directions for bringing me what was in the dryer. He then asked for directions on what to do with the load now in the dryer.

An hour or so later, he then brought me my last load of laundry. At this point, I had two baskets of clean laundry and a pile of clean sheets on my unmade bed. And the burst of energy I’d had the day before was long gone. I figured the laundry could wait.

It was after I learned that Melinda made dinner without any help from me and I’d washed up all the dinner dishes that I finally decided to fold all that laundry with the intent to put it all away and clear the bed so we could properly make it.

Do you know what happened?

Melinda took her nightly bath while I was still sorting and folding it. Some of that laundry is stored in the bathroom so now I had to wait to put it away. Jerry decided he was again too tired to wait for me to clear off the bed before I noticed that Melinda was now out of the bathroom.

One more night sleeping on an unmade bed.

After he was sound asleep, I was able to put all the laundry away (I wasn’t going to sleep with it) but I also realized a couple of things. One, I had not at any time, even during my burst of energy on Monday, made any attempts to write this post. Two, it was now late. I could either go to bed myself then get up early and work on my post (pure procrastination, again) or I could try to write it before going to bed.

The thing is, I’ve learned that trying to type up my post at night requires several hours and possibly the whole night. This might be because I tend to dose off while I’m attempting to think of the next line or word.

So, sleep it is. I made sure my alarm was set so I’d get up earlier than usual so I would have plenty of time to type, whatever I was going to write about. Yes, I had still not come up with an idea. Due to the hour, it meant I’d be getting about six hours of sleep. That is if you didn’t count the one or two trips to the bathroom my body would wake me up for.

The first time woke up this morning I realized the sun was already starting to come up.

By the time I found my phone and figured out just how early in the morning it was, I was already awake. So I pulled out my laptop and opened Word.

And, of course, the first thing I think about is all the reasons why I’d slept two nights in an unmade bed. Maybe today, I should get Jerry to help me make it while the sun’s still shining.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.

Writing About Birthdays by Bonnie Le Hamilton

Today I am remembering my birthday. And there are so many birthdays to remember.

Way back in 1976, I was in the summer band. My band class always met on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. That year the 5^th fell on Monday. Everyone in the clarinet section knew this.

I can still picture the look of utter confusion on our band leader’s face at the end of the parade right after he announced there would be no band classes on Monday. And it must have been really confusing because every other section cheered except the clarinet section. All but one of the girls snapped their fingers and stomped their feet in the classic, “uh shoot!” expression while one girl dang near collapsed to the ground in utter relief, and the lone boy in the section just stood there unfazed.

I was the one sighing with relief. And believe me, until he announced no classes on Monday, I was seriously considering skipping class that Monday, because all those girls were planning to ambush me so all of them, could spank me fourteen times and each give me a pinch to grow an inch. I even know why they were planning to do it.

I had done the very unwise thing of mentioning I hadn’t received any birthday spankings in years, let alone a pinch to grow an inch.

Considering how short I am, that was very stupid of me to mention. I was the oldest, and shortest, kid in our band. All the kids in the clarinet section knew this, and they were prepared to make sure I got all those pinches in order for me to grow at least an inch.

I tried to tell them I didn’t think that old myth would work, but they wouldn’t listen, and I wasn’t about to endure their attack just to prove it didn’t work.

Thankfully I didn’t have to.

Though I think Konnie will agree with me when I say our worst birthday is still our 6th birthday, and that’s surpassing last year when I had COVID or the year before when she had COVID, or back in ’88 because I was stuck at home waiting for my husband to get off watch to come home and give my present which was in the trunk of our car, when our dad called, and, without preamble, announced, “He’s taller than you.”

Not fun, but still not as horrible as opening two of everything on our 6^th birthday.

How do you feel about birthdays? Do you have a worst one?

For that matter, how do your characters feel about their birthdays?

Some families have traditions that only make a fuss over the birthdays of the children, never the adults, who are lucky to get a card, and simple well wishes. While others don’t celebrate birthdays at all.

What sort of birthday traditions do you have? What sort of birthday traditions do your characters have?

I honestly don’t know for most of my characters, though for most of them, their birthdays don’t occur during the story, so that isn’t too bad that I don’t know. I do know for one character that her father (who raised her) didn’t pay attention to birthdays at all, but I know that because the story starts on her birthday, and she doesn’t realize it until she sees a calendar noting the date.

I have another character who probably didn’t have birthday celebrations at all, just not sure about her. I know they didn’t celebrate Christmas in her family. And no, they were not Jewish or any known religion that doesn’t celebrate Christmas. Her stepfather was more like a cult leader, but it was a very small cult.

I do have one story where the birthdays of several characters are mentioned and celebrated, but I really don’t have the main characters feeling about their birthdays except for the one depicted in the story in which her father ruined everything. Can’t help but know her feelings when she’s bawling her eyes out.

And one (in an unfinished story) who hates her birthday because for all the ones she could remember, something tragic happened to her on her birthday. I have a scene where she doesn’t want to live through another birthday.

The thing is everyone views their birthday differently, depending on their family traditions and or traumatic past.

Konnie and I could hate our birthdays because of the events on our 6^th birthday, but well, bad things did happen, but they could have happened on any other day, it was just made worse, and notable because it was our birthday.

Some people avoid even mentioning their birthday because of their traumatic past, while others look forward to theirs and make sure everyone knows when it is.

Anyway, happy writing everyone!  

Of Editing and Re-writing by Konnie Enos

Last week Bonnie wrote about her editing woes. Specifically about all the backtracking she’s had to do to fix the timeline, and plot holes. She also mentioned discovering that my copy of book 4 in my sci-fi series started with well over a hundred pages of scenes that were now in book 3.

What she failed to notice is that I had decided to end book three at a much later point than it had originally ended. Meaning, I’d copied those pages and pasted them into book 3, where I intended to keep them. The issue was, I hadn’t removed them from book 4 yet. Mostly because I was still working on edits to book 1.

However, when she mentioned the issue it’d been long enough since I’d done that for me to forget I had. Though I did remember while I was checking those files for myself. And doing that got me back into working on the edits to my books.

I quickly breezed through book 1, which I had mostly edited already anyway. Then I worked on book 2. It took a bit longer because I hadn’t done as much editing on it previously. Then I started book 3. It needed a bit more work. But with some effort, I finally got through it.

Now at this point, what I have for books 4 and 5 isn’t enough to cover two books, but more than I need for one. Also, what I have for book 5 (both title and content) is not in keeping with the theme/pattern of the previous ones.

Though the biggest issue is the reason I ended book 3 at a different spot. I wanted the story to be a better match for the title, therefore ending in a different spot was needed. This also means that book 4 must end at a different spot.

The other issue I have with both books 4 and 5 is that since I last worked on them, I’ve added aliens and languages, not to mention other details. I’ve even changed some scenes. So both books are going to be more work.

Book five is going to be the most work because of the changes in content, plus needing more material to fill the novel. Different beginning and slightly different ending.

Now, however, I have an issue. I have seven POV characters in my sci-fi but each book has a main focus on one or two of them. (Book 1 is Hero and Heroine 1, book 2 is Hero and Heroine 2, and books three, four, and five are Hero 3, 4, and 5 respectively.)

I’ve also written prologues for books 1 through 4 but I still need one for book 5. However, I’m unsure how to go about it. Each of the four prologues is in the POV of one of the heroes. Book 1 is about Hero and Heroine 1 and the prologue is in the POV of Hero 2. Book 2 is the same, just switched the POVs. Book three is about Hero 3 with a prologue in Hero 4’s POV. Again, Book 4 is switched POVs. All of these prologues are set several years in the past. I don’t have a counterpoint POV character to provide that glimpse of the past for Hero 5. It should be interesting to come up with his prologue.

The other issue she pointed out in her blog was all the backtracking she had to do to fix plot holes and other discrepancies.

Yes, I’ve been doing a lot of that.

Either that or I’ll have to backtrack to check what I have written previously. So I don’t contradict myself. Like saying where an office is in book one, then putting it in a completely different place in book three. I changed book one only to later realize I needed that office where book 1 originally said. So backtrack again and change both book 1 and book 3 so they will match book 4. Yes, that was a bit complicated.

But I think the really fun part is when I realized I’d changed at least one scene in book 3 to take out Hero 5. However, I need the deleted content for scenes I need to add later in the story (book 4 or 5). I went looking for the previous version with Hero 5 still in it. I could not find it.

It wasn’t in previous versions of book 3. I panicked, looking everywhere I could think of for the old files of book 3. It took searching through several more files before it sank into my panicked brain as to why I couldn’t find it.

I’d moved several scenes from book 4 to book 3!

I found it.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day. 

Editing Woes by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

Sometimes I hate editing. I’ve been working on my epic sci-fi, which is nowhere near finished, trying to at least finish the first book. My problem is while adding more detail to the story, I keep thinking of things I should have shown earlier, or other things that really should be addressed at an earlier spot, and in one case, wasn’t addressed and should have been.

Yeah, I have been doing a lot of backtracking.

At one point, last week I told Konnie I had finished my edits up through chapter fifteen and had started on chapter sixteen, which was true, at the time. I honestly thought when I said it that I was finally making headway. Well, that was last week, for the last two days I’ve been realizing there is a major plot hole in the second scene (the unaddressed issue), and that I hadn’t dealt with a couple of other matters as entirely as I had originally planned.

This means I have to go back and start from the very beginning of chapter one to find all the possible places to fix these problems!

I guess I should count myself lucky that there are no errors with my prologue which is basically a fable or myth about the “creation” of their solar system. That is in fine shape.

The story itself is great, it's just getting all the details in, and correct.

But this is why I hate editing. I do this all the time, I think I’ve got a section done and move on, then, usually right when I’m writing some other detail, I end up going, “Wait a minute!”

I’ve mentioned before the one step forward, two steps back kind of event, but at this rate, I’ll never finish the series. I’m lucky if I’ll finish the first book!

And I have this major issue with writing things out of order, for the life of me, if I write a scene out of order, I’m pretty much done with the story, I can’t seem to go back and fill the missing sections. Ergo, I can’t move to another book until this book is finished, and I mean, done editing.

Not that I can move forward that much, because as of yet, the twin brother of the hero in book one isn’t talking to me, and I kind of need his POV for most of the rest of the series because he’s vital to the conclusion.

It’s not like he isn’t mentioned already, he just doesn’t make his appearance, yet, unless you count pictures and holographs of him, or the fact that they are identical twins, and the hero has gone searching for his missing twin.

Plus, that doesn’t even get into the fact that last week I was rereading it and realized that the second scene I had happened well before the first scene I had, so in essence, the second scene with the plot hole used to be the first scene.

Okay, yeah that’s something I wrote out of order, but I have to point out that this epic sci-fi started out as a writing prompt I did for a workshop some years ago. It was the beginning of the first paragraph that used to be the first scene. When I submitted that prompt, everyone in the group really liked it and wanted more.

This was right before Nano, so instead of expanding right away, I wrote down some plot points, made a list of characters (a semblance of an outline, if you will), and waited for November first. When Nano started, I fleshed out what had been the first scene, then wrote what had been the second scene to finally bring in the hero of this part of the story.

That has to be the first time ever I’ve written anything out of sequence and still managed to keep going. I promise it usually doesn’t work like that for me, I can show you tons of partial stories with one scene written out of sequence and, even after all this time, I have been unable to fill in the blank. I have tried a time or two, but no go. I do have one where I managed to fill in a little, but not all.

And this is why I hate editing. It’s so annoying to think I’ve finished something and then to have it dawn on me that I haven’t.

Konnie certainly knows how I feel, she’s been editing too. On her epic sci-fi even. But I got her back on that when I informed her, I couldn’t find the fourth book of that series among our shared files. What I did find was a repeat of book three under the file name of book four.

Isn’t editing fun?

Happy writing everyone!

Of Procrastination and Sleep by Konnie Enos

Last night I mentioned to Tony that it was my turn to do the post for our blog. He then commented on my tendency to procrastinate and that studies have shown people who procrastinate tend to come up with the most creative ideas.

I’m not sure that’s true but I do procrastinate a lot of things. Even when I think I have a great idea for my next post, I generally don’t even start writing it before Tuesday night. Lately, it’s been Wednesday morning.

And it’s not like I’m busy.

I spend most of my days sitting on my bed on my tech. Generally, I spend a few hours each morning doing some mind-challenging games (like Sudoku) or getting lost down the rabbit hole of social media. In the afternoon I’ll either read (lately that’s been Kindle books) or watch something with the occasional dive into making sure all our bills are paid and we have enough left over to cover groceries and gas until we get more money. I could also spend hours on end working on one of my WIPS. Once I get started I don’t stop until it’s very late. Usually, really late.

I don’t know if my issue is daylight or activity, though I’d guess activity because I have slept during the day. I am not in the habit of sleeping when I can hear other people up and about.

And that thought just made me realize what the real issue could be.

Around the time the sun comes up each day, the dogs want attention, if only to go out back and relieve themselves and Melinda starts her day. Jerry does too. Neither of them is loud, but I can hear them.

Melinda doesn’t talk much, but I can hear her moving about the house. From skipping up and down the hall to doing her daily chores, there are always some sounds to indicate she is up and about.

Jerry tends to be quieter. If he is in the bedroom, he’s at his desk, has headphones on, and does not move about, much. I can tell he is there without looking because his jittering and fidgeting have his old chair doing a lot of squeaking. One of these days, I’ll get up enough nerve to throw that thing away. Either that or he is constantly going in and out the door. Since he usually does this to check up on his Akita I’ll also hear him opening and closing the gate to the dog run. (The gate is by my bedroom window.)

By midday, Jerry will take a nap, or find something to do outside of the house. Melinda will spend time very quietly browsing the internet, reading a book, or taking a nap if she doesn’t feel well. But by then I’m engrossed in something or the boys have woken up for the day.

Conversations are the biggest indicator the boys are up, or the distinct sounds of Royce running up and down the backyard. Considering it’s rare for my children to hear me when I call for help if they aren’t in the hallway, I’m often amazed that I can pick up their conversations when they are in the front room. Hearing Royce is much easier since he is running right outside my bedroom window.

Now, when Melinda goes to bed at night, we do turn out all the lights and anyone still awake tries to be quieter which would be conducive to getting some sleep myself, especially since the sun is also down by then, but somehow I never do.

Sometimes I’m balancing a checkbook and need to hunt down some discrepancy or another. Most of the time I am right in the middle of reading, writing, or editing something and I want to at least get to a good stopping point.

I think we’ve all been there. A good stopping point is the end of the chapter (or scene) but when we reach it, we’re so into the story that we simply continue until we realize how late it is. Then we’ll chide ourselves to go to bed at the end of the chapter only to forget again when we reach it.

It’s not unusual for me to notice that it is all but morning again and force myself to close my laptop and get some sleep. Then when morning comes I spend the day with a headache because it wasn’t nearly enough sleep.

This all means that I feel like I’m not getting enough sleep. Or more accurately, I’m not getting enough sleep. But on the plus side, procrastinating does seem to help me come up with ideas for my posts, and I can type fast enough to get them ready before our deadline.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day. 

Of Birthdays and Memories by Bonnie Le Hamilton

 

Yesterday was my sister’s-in-law birthday, but due to her being out camping with her big sister and brother-in-law, I celebrated with her this past Saturday. While we were chatting over lunch, I mentioned something about needing to get Konnie her birthday gift to her, before I forgot.

Well, Shirley (said sister-in-law) started to say something then berated herself, saying, “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

I frowned and asked her what was going on and she looked at me and said, “I was about to ask when Konnie’s birthday is.”

Let me point out that a few years ago Konnie came up here to celebrate our birthday with me and Shirley, her big sister (Vera-Ellen), and Vera-Ellen’s husband and daughter, threw the two of us a birthday party. On the other hand, Shirley does have Alzheimer’s and I found it pretty good that she remembered that she did know when Konnie’s birthday is before she actually got the question out.

Now if it had been Vera-Ellen or any of her family, I’d have questioned their sanity, but Shirley? The one who writes shopping lists then leaves them at home and tries to get her shopping done without one. Only to forget the two most important things on her list. Necessitating a second trip to the store, for which I am the chauffeur.

I will admit, I’m not sure all my in-laws know when my birthday is, even if they all know I’m a twin. However, Shirley, Vera-Ellen, and Vera-Ellen’s husband and daughter do know. Well, at least Shirley knows when she remembers.

Vera-Ellen and her family don’t have that excuse.

The rest of the family, well, I’m not even sure when all their birthdays are. Tom was always very vague about when their birthdays were, nor did he ever make any effort to call his siblings on their birthdays. Today, I know some of their birthdays simply because I’m friends with them on Facebook, and I really should write them down, since Facebook only reminds me the day of their birthday.

I kind of need a little more notice than that if I’m going to send them something if I remember and have the money for it. Having money to send something would be the issue. I’m lucky if I have money to buy something.

Though it did penetrate my thick skull this year that Konnie’s youngest was born on the birthday of one of my brothers-in-law. Why I didn’t notice before, I have no idea. But I could swear, this year is the only year Facebook notified me of both birthdays, which of course doesn’t make sense. Clearly what is at issue here is my thick, or scattered, brain rather than Facebook messing up.

At any rate, I can now tell you the birthdays of all three of Tom’s sisters, and the one brother. So, I am getting closer to knowing them. Took me long enough. The only trouble is I learned when the birthdays of two of his sisters before we were even married.

His sister Bonnie was born a day shy of his first birthday, and the oldest of my brothers was born on his 5th birthday, which makes it easy. And Vera-Ellen was born on August 22, the year before him. Those three came in such quick succession that his family always celebrated all three birthdays on the birthday in the middle, Tom’s. He complained about that when we first started dating.

I listened to his complaints without a word, when he finished, I said, “Yeah, I know what’s like to have to share your birthday; I’ve been doing it my whole life too.”

He responded, “Oh brother, I’m complaining to the wrong person.”

“Ya think?”

I have always shared my birthday with Konnie. I can think of one year when we had separate parties simply because she still preferred an all-girls slumber party, and I wanted a party, with guys, gals, and music.

Which didn’t go over so great. Let’s just say, I also hate having a birthday so close to a major national holiday. It never fails that come our birthday, everyone, or almost everyone, is still out of town with their family.

Konnie had picked the week after our birthday for her party; they turned out for Konnie’s party and didn’t bother to RSVP for mine.

No one did. So, I planned on everyone I invited coming and had a ton of leftovers. Not a fun night to say the least.

Though maybe I should work that disaster into a story someday.

Anyway, happy writing everyone, I’m off to do more editing on my sci-fi!