Dining Like a Character

When we writerly sisters gather, we bring along a few delicacies to nibble while we ruminate on plots and protagonists. This month I suggested that we bring a food our main character would eat. Mine was easy. Since my WIP is set in the Great Depression on a small east-central Indiana farm, I made chicken 'n' dumplings from scratch. Knowing that my MC's fifteen-year-old brother takes off to ride the rails, Kathi baked Hobo Bread in a tin can. Delicious! And since she's working on a children's story about a dog, she also baked another bread that she makes for her own dogs: Spinach Peanut Butter Bread. Sounds strange but it wasn't bad.

Kathy, a multi-pubbed writer of historical romances, brought a delicious Apple Crumb Pie, something many of her characters surely would  bake to entice their love interests.

Lori, who contributed a platter of tasty toasted sandwiches filled with fried bananas and peanut butter, is crafting a tale about a character who is a loyal fan of Elvis Presley.

Finally, I come to Natalie. Frankly, I was a bit anxious about her offering. I warned her in advance, "If it tries to crawl off the plate, I'm not eating it." You see, Natalie writes high fantasy. I needn't have worried. Her presentation was exotic enough for a fantastic repast, but familiar enough to arrest anxiety. Each plate was lined with red lettuce leaves topped with roasted mushrooms, toasted piñons, steamed asparagus spears, chive blades, steamed artichoke leaves, lemon-pepper tilapia, and "grubs" (sculpted from string cheese). Since her MC lives in a desert, Natalie served a luscious layered dessert bar made of figs and dates atop a graham cracker crust and spread with a sweet cream-cheese layer.

This delicious idea provided one more way we each connected with our characters, and we won't soon forget what our cohorts are writing.

Your turn: Have you had an interesting writers' meeting? Do you ever utilize themes for your meetings? Share the fun by leaving a comment. Thanks!

Write on!
Because of Christ,
Sharon

Decrescendo

The trees play a symphony of color,

With the maples and the sweet gums

Filling in the brass section,

The willows, the graceful, high-pitched strings,

And the oaks, leather-headed drums.

It is September, that unsubtle month,

That must be heard beating out summer,

Heralding fall,

Warning of winter to come.

"These crisp mornings put sweetness in the apples,"

Mama used to say.

And the orchestra plays on--

Sometimes in the raucous sunlight that seems

Brighter because it is rarer than in July,

Sometimes under billowing clouds,

Sometimes softly muffled in the early morning mists.

The song is as sweet as a golden delicious,

But with overtones of melancholy,

Foreshadowing a change of key.

(Copyright 1998 by Sharon Kirk Clifton)

Write on!

Because of Christ,

Sharon

Half a Dog Won't Hunt: Writing in a 50% World

Two years ago, I had bilateral knee-replacement surgery. The left knee is nearly perfect. It works fine. The right? That's another story. It's nearly as bad as it was before surgery. I got 50% of what I expected.

Yesterday, my air-conditioning went out. Zilch. Nada. The fan wasn't even blowing warm air. I called the office of the apartment complex where I live, and within a half hour, maintenance had yanked the old unit and wrestled a different one into place. (Notice I didn't say a "new" one.) The fan worked on that one, but it didn't cool. I got 50% of what I expected. After another call to the office, I actually got a new one that cools. Huzzah! 100% at last!

Years ago, I worked in advertising for Sears, Roebuck, and Co. (Yes, it went by its full name before they truncated it, hacking off more than 50%.) I loved my work. I laid out the ads, designed and built floor and window displays, and wrote ad copy. When floor managers would go to lunch, guess who got to cover for them. Yep. Me! I loved that, too, because if it was a slow day, I hauled out the hefty books from which the department managers ordered their stock, and I studied, so I knew why this sofa's construction was better than that lower priced one, how muslin differed from percale, how to determine which tire tread would best suite a customer's needs, and how to tie a four-in-hand knot. I also loved those times when business was bustling. The problem-solving element of sales I found exhilarating.

Times have changed. In this 50% world, the part that has been lopped off is service. Seldom can sales clerks tell customers where to find items, especially if it's something outside their department. (In days of old, we had to memorize department names and numbers before we were let loose to help customers.)

Our writers' craft requires 100%. We can't get by with a 50% approach to research, for example. I'm not sure how writers of yore avoided anachronisms, since I'm constantly chasing down internet rabbit trails to verify some fact such as when certain words entered the common lexicon. My work in progress is set in 1935, so Tillie, my ten-year-old protagonist, can't use a bobby pin to hold her hair back, nor can she say to her best friend, "Hey, toots, wha'cha reading?" Neither term was recorded as in use prior to 1936.

As I was writing novel MS #2, partially set in 1860, I had to toss away a beautiful handgun. I loved that weapon. As guns go, it looked good. It was a revolver that had some shotgun features, too--a gun the southern-Indiana deputy in the story would cherish. Problem was, I learned the following:

1. it wasn't invented until mid-Civil War; 
2.  it was a Southern weapon
3. only a few hundred were manufactured
4. for the most part, it was a favorite of Confederate officers

A pre-Civil War sheriff's deputy wouldn't have had one. What if I had done only 50% of the research necessary to discover the truth?

Consider the many genres of fiction--Regency romance, Amish, bonnet, biblical, historical, thriller. The list is endless. Writers who excel in their genre possess an amazing abundance of esoteric knowledge about that genre. Recently I asked an Amish friend if she reads Amish fiction. "Yes," she said, "but only by the writers who get it right." To get it right, Vanessa Chapman, Wanda Brunstetter, Beverly Lewis, Cindy Woodsmall, Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, etc., can't settle for less than 100%. Even if they've lived among Plain communities, they constantly check with contacts for accuracy's sake.

The same dogged determination that drives us to get the facts right should propel us through the other aspects of our writing, as we thoroughly get to know our characters (I like to interview mine, as I've written about before), our setting (sometimes I draw up house plans or layouts of a town or farm to use as reference), and the plot.

The world around us may settle for "50% off," but we dare not. Neither publishers nor readers will tolerate it.

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord. . . " ~Colossians 3:23

Write on!
Because of Christ,
Sharon

Celebrating Dr. Calvin Miller's Life

Yesterday, the Lord's Day, 19 August 2012, Dr. Calvin Miller passed from this life into the Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are blessed to have his great body of work remaining to continue his legacy. 

I am most familiar with his poetic works, The Singer trilogy. When I was classroom teaching, I often read it aloud to my high school English students and saw it touch their lives. 

Dr. Miller was to be the keynote speaker at the 2012 Indianapolis Christian Writers' Conference, held the first weekend of November at the world headquarters of the Wesleyan Church. I was looking forward to hearing him speak and hopefully meeting him. Alas, I'll have to wait for Heaven. 

Do you have memories of Dr. Miller? Which of his works especially affected your life? Please leave a comment.

Write on!

Because of Christ,

Sharon

WriteOnCon Begins

Today is "gear up" day for the 2012 WriteOnCon. It begins officially tomorrow. This is my first year to participate in this FREE online conference for writers of MG, 'Tween, and YA. Can you tell I'm excited?

Write on!

Because of Christ,
Sharon

The Name Game

When our group of writerly sisters met this month, Natalie had a problem. She writes speculative fiction--fantasy, to be specific--and she couldn't settle on a name for her mc (main character).

"I'm stuck," she said. "I can't write on until I have a name." She needed one suitable to both her genre and her character. The girl no longer worked. The character was gelling in her mind, but the name eluded her. So we sat around my dining room table brainstorming names--alas, to no avail.


A couple days after our gathering, Natalie sent out a Facebook message to the sisters that she had found the perfect name. We all celebrated her victory.

Character names are extremely important. Try to imagine The Adventures of Clarence Finn, Harriet Eyre, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Joe B. Smythe, or Robert the Pooh. What if Old Yeller had been named Golden Boy or Because of Winn-Dixie were Because of Walmart? Would a rose by any other name truly smell as sweet? I'm with Anne Shirley on that one. If roses were called skunk cabbages, they couldn't be as fragrant. (And would you want to read Bertha of Green Gables?)

As with most words, a name carries with it connotation and denotation, the latter being its actual meaning (which the writer can discover by visiting baby-naming sites). The connotation is the baggage the name carried with it, for the writer, but also for the reader. The two may be quite different, depending on personal experience with the name. For example, I won't name a positive character Jackie because a boy by that name tormented me throughout my public school years. Bonnie is out for me, too. You likely have a list of off-limit names.

Now I have my own naming quandary.  I'm writing my third middle-grade novel, this one for the lower end of that readers' range. It's set in east-central Indiana in the 1930s. My mc is a ten-year-old feisty girl who dares to confront her step-father about his parental skills--or lack thereof. I'm torn between Leora and Tillie (short for Matilda).

Which name do you prefer and why? Or is there one you like better than either of those? Please click "Comments" to register your input. Thanks much!

Write on!
Because of Christ,
Sharon

How Long To Persevere

Do you ever put a book aside, deciding to stop reading it? At what point do you call it quits? What factors figure into your decision? 

I'm a writer; therefore, I'm an avid reader. Of course, much of what I read is within my primary genre, middle-grade fiction; a secondary genre, historical fiction; and books about the writer's craft.
       Now and then, I come across a book with which I have a hard time connecting. Perhaps the characters lack the depth needed to capture my interest or the premise is shallow or weak. The book may be very good, though, and simply not appeal to me. I made a pact with myself when I was in high school that I would read at least 100 pages before I quit a book. Usually, by that point I'm invested in the story and continue to the end. Usually. But not always.
       Do you ever put a book aside, deciding to stop reading it? At what point do you call it quits? What factors figure into your decision? I look forward to reading your comments.

What Am I Reading Now?

No Longer a Slumdog

by Dr. K. P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia

Were it not for the message of hope through Jesus Christ woven through the pages of this book, it would be nearly impossible to read because of the heartrending content. No Longer a Slumdog is a small book but an important one that every Christ-follower should read. Click on Dr. Yohannan's name above and hear him discuss the book.

The Quirky Writer's Kitchen: The Recipes!

Sour Milk Chocolate Cake

1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs

1 cup sour milk (or add a little lemon juice or cider vinegar to sweet milk)

2-1/2 cups unbleached flour
7 tablespoons cocoa (not Dutch)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda dissolved in 1 cup warm water

Cake: Cream together butter and sugar. Add 2 eggs, 1 cup sour milk (add 1 tbsp vinegar to milk, if you don't have sour milk or buttermilk), flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda. Mix till well blended. Pour in greased 9 x 13 pan. (I sprayed the pan with organic olive oil spray.) Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Test by touching top of cake; if it springs back, it's done. You can also insert a toothpick near the center, and if it comes out clean, the cake is done.

Caramel Butter Cream Frosting

Melt together 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup dark brown sugar. Bring to a boil and stir for about one minute. Add 1/4 cup. milk. Stir well and allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, sift about 3-1/4 cups powdered sugar. Mix caramel mixture together with powdered sugar and beat well. Weather affects the frosting, so don't add all the powdered at once. Beat in each addition until you have it at a nice spreading consistency. This makes enough to frost two 8" layers, tops and sides, or one 9 x 13 pan. If you wish, you may sprinkle nuts on the top.

WARNING! Once you taste this simple frosting, you'll never be satisfied to just open a store-bought can again!

Now, I'm making some tea and cutting a square of this cake, and it's back to the keyboard for me to . . .

Write on!

Because of Christ,

Sharon

The Quirky Writer's Kitchen

When I discovered my milk was tainted, on its way to being all-out sour, I did what any red-blooded child of a mama who survived the Great Depression would do; I set it out on the counter to let it get good and tangy. Now I'm about to bake a genuine scratch Sour Milk Chocolate Cake. I'll slather it over with homemade caramel icing good enough to cut in squares and sell in any fine candy shop.

I'm beginning my third middle-grade novel, this one set in east-central Indiana during--you guessed it--the Depression. As I searched for the cake recipe, I got to thinking about how much the 1930s changed the way we cook. It certainly affected Mama's style. 

I was born post-WWII, but I know that much of what Mama cooked was the result of having lived through the dark decade in America's history. We were "economically challenged" throughout my youth. I guess the Depression hung on longer for some folks. My mama had a talent for making something delicious out of nothing. 

There's a wonderful little restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans that's famous for its bread pudding. It's good. Really good. But not better than Mama's. And the money I paid for one helping of that N'awleans treat was more than Mama had for a week's groceries. I loved Mama's bread pudding, but I just thought of it as something you do with old, stale bread.

Pies--vinegar (tastes like lemon pie), buttermilk, custard, and old-fashioned sugar cream--were among her specialties. Some of those predated the Depression, coming through the generations from our pioneer foremothers, but recipes that reflected the frugality of the times gained popularity after the stock market crashed.

Casserole recipes abounded during the 1930s, also. Homemakers could stretch a little meat to serve a family by mixing it with something rich in carbs--potatoes, macaroni, noodles/dumplings (homemade, of course), or rice. Toss in some leftover veggies and add a cream sauce of some kind. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour and serve with bread. The wolf at the door was staved off one more night.

Back to my research. (After all, I must eat what my characters would eat.) The cake should be cool enough to cut in about three hours. Come on over, and I'll serve you a slab, along with some hazelnut coffee, fresh from the quirky writer's kitchen. Sound good?

Write on!

Because of Christ,

Sharon

Postscript: Cake and frosting are delicious! Come back in a little while for the recipes.