organic plotting

by | Feb 25, 2009 | Uncategorized

Barbara Samuel has a fantastic article on organic plotting which made me say "Aha!" and now I must get Story by Robert McKee. This is very like my process except without the Story exercise and also lately I have not had a year or more to "cook" ideas. I think the reduction in cooking time can be compensated for by the Story work recommended. (It is possible to accelerate cooking time and the more tricks available to do it, the better off a story is.) Also, instead of collage I do music soundtracks to generate the right tone and mood.

Chick lit, subverting the dominant paradigm?

by | Feb 24, 2009 | Uncategorized

Introduced the five year old to the Wizard of Oz yesterday, which made me notice something. Frank L. Baum, ruby slippers. Hans Christian Anderson, also fixated on red shoes. Cinderella and her glass slippers. Stories about chicks and their shoes have been around for a long time, and men did it.

Along comes chick lit written by women in which women buy their own shoes instead of getting gifted or cursed with them. Frivolity, or subverting the dominant paradigm? You decide.

Playlist, Kiss of the Demon

by | Feb 22, 2009 | Uncategorized

I got the synopsis for Kiss of the Demon (Shadow Guardians #2) done yesterday, and I have the playlist together. Now writing chapters and out of order scene snippets. (I write it down as it comes, put it in order later.) It’s really helping to have other projects in tandem, because the dark fantasy stuff is intense. Taking breaks from it makes it flow better.

Here’s the playlist:
Du Hast, Rammstein
Ribbons, Sisters of Mercy
Never Enough, The Cure
The Ghost in You, Psychedelic Furs
When You’re Gone, Avril Lavigne
Patience, Guns n Roses

It’s a weird mix, but it makes the muse happy.

DIY

by | Feb 21, 2009 | Uncategorized

A few months ago I discovered I could make every kind of cleaner I’d ever need from vinegar, baking soda, water, lemon juice and olive oil. I promptly stopped buying the spendy all natural stuff we bought (allergic to all the chemically non-natural things) and started to make my own. About the same time, the price of bread shot up and since we go through a lot of bread and I used to make it back in the days when one loaf lasted forever, I added bread making to my do it yourself list.

The house is cleaner, the bread tastes better, the budget is improved, and it’s turned out to be kind of fun, adding a creative element to the daily routine.

So I branched out. I learned to make hair rinse from apple cider vinegar, and discovered that it worked far better than any of the expensive conditioners I’d shelled out for over the years. I found recipes for tooth powder, shampoo, dish soap. After the first trial of the DIY dish soap, I was amazed to see that it left the sink shiny clean. Nice change from the usual soapy film. It’s also kind to the hands and leaves dishes gleaming.

Dish soap recipe, if you want to try it: 1 oz. liquid castille soap, 2 cups water, 10 drops tea tree oil, 1 tsp olive oil. Use 2 tsp. per sinkful of hot water.

Making all this stuff has turned out to be fun, a big savings, a health benefit (did I mention the allergies?) and good for the environment. Saves time, too; if I run out of something, it takes one minute to mix up more instead of running out to the store.

If there’s something you’ve never tried to make yourself, you might enjoy the DIY experiment.