Author: a.catherine.noon

  • Writer Wednesday – A Genius Viewpoint

    Along with talented friends on an artist’s forum, I am reading Julia Cameron’s book “Walking in This World”.  It follows the same thread as her “Artist’s Way” guide, both aimed at helping people unlock and explore their creative potential.  One continuing theme of Ms. Cameron’s program includes inspirational quotes in the books’ margins.  Proceeding through each weekly chapter I tend to find at least one that stands out.
    Week nine gave me the following:
    “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein
    This rousing, seemingly unscientific outlook led me to look up the genius on Wikipedia.  There I found something nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer said at Mr. Einstein’s memorial.  The following words reinforce the lauded theoretical physicist’s opinion.
    “There was always with him a wonderful purity at once childlike and profoundly stubborn.”
    What better way to describe someone who sees miracles?  Of course this is a visionary approach not only toward scientific achievement, but also artistic.  Julia Cameron encourages both a childlike idealism and a strong (one might say stubborn) work ethic.
    Whether theorizing on relativity or plotting a novel, human beings must see beyond the scope of reality.  Yes, our storyline and characterizations may stay within a real world context.  Our minds, however, are creating fiction.  We are inventors.
    I may be no Einstein, but I’m going to go now and invent something the world has never seen.  Happy writing!
    –

  • NaNoWritingCrazyMixedUpNeedMoreCoffeeMo

    Are you doing NaNo?  (National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo.)  This year, I got off to a slow start because a) we’ve moved, b) I started a new job, c) I had a house guest the first weekend, and d) my dad’s in town this week.  Never a dull moment in Noonyland.  But here’s what I’ve learned:

    1. It’s like weight loss – so what, you had cake yesterday?  Right NOW, you’re not eating cake and you can have a salad.
    2. Write.  Write about why you’re not writing, don’t feel like writing, are too tired to write.  Whatever you’re feeling, put it on the page.
    3. All words count during NaNo.
    4. Keep writing.  Your story doesn’t suck; that’s just the inner critic talking.  Keep going.
    5. If your story sucks, keep writing it.  How many people do you know who have completed a novel-length manuscript, even a bad one?  Give yourself permission to be a beginner and just write the damned book.
    6. Write.  And when doubt strikes, write more.
    7. Coffee helps.
    That’s my list of 5 things I learned from NaNo.
    I may have lost my ability to count due to excessive coffee consumption.
    Write on!

  • Writer Wednesday – Elizabeth Brooks, A Tale of Trust

    With us today for Writer Wednesday is Elizabeth Brooks, author, editor, and avid amigurumist.  (Yes, I had to look up that one too.)  I’m pleased to bring you her guest post for today,

    A Tale of Trust
    Elizabeth Brooks

    Winnie waited as patiently as she could, nervousness roiling her belly. She wondered what the new master would be like — harsh or lenient? She hoped the new master wouldn’t be like the old one. Of course a master must have confidence and a certain ruthlessness, but Winnie’s previous master had been arrogant and unyielding, reluctant to listen to her desires, determined to shape her into a mold of his own devising. He had, at the end, bowed to her safeword, but sulkily. (At least he had bowed to it. Winnie had heard plenty of horror stories about those who didn’t.) But she had needs, knew that she needed a firm hand to keep her from stumbling awkwardly, and so here she was, again, waiting for a master. And hoping.

    ~

    Ellie studied the file before her. The sub was new to her, though the file contents bespoke some prior experience. She hoped this would be a good match. She’d had bad matches before, subs who were so wrapped in their own desires that they couldn’t bring themselves to trust Ellie, even briefly. One had been so rigid that he’d thrown the safeword at her with nearly every stroke, resisting her every attempt to define and shape him. She’d been forced to release him, unpolished, and not been surprised when his flawed glory failed to attract much attention. But each new sub was a fresh start.

    ~

    Each club had its own rules, and though Winnie was happy to comply, she had trouble keeping them all straight, and so the session began with some small corrections, matters of style that had barely hurt at all, just a series of red marks that disappeared quickly and easily. A couple of them had stung, but more from Winnie’s own humiliation than the master’s hand — some rules were near-universal, and she knew better! Then, both of them warmed, the master began with the larger corrections, and those had been more difficult. Winnie had hesitated several times, tasting the safeword on the tip of her tongue, but the master had been patient, gently insisting, “Try it and see.” And more often than not, Winnie had tried, and found that she appreciated the subtle grace that the master had drawn out of her… and the heat. Oh, the heat! The master’s hand had marked her and cut her and then built her up and smoothed her, the burn of those corrective strokes serving only to build Winnie effortlessly to her climax, and then gentling the shudders of her denouement.

    ~

    Ellie drew a slow, satisfied breath. The sub had proven very responsive indeed, bowing to Ellie’s commands, letting Ellie smooth the roughness and close the gaps. Ellie had demanded perfection, and had warmed inwardly at the sub’s earnest efforts. Yet the sub had let strength shine, too, forbidden Ellie to damage that vital core when she had inadvertently pushed too hard. Ellie loved a sub who would push back, when it was important. It made the trust between them blossom. Too soon, it seemed, the climax had come and gone, and the sub lay before Ellie, marked with red but panting in satisfaction, previously-awkward limbs and curves molded into elegant lines. Ellie blew one last, warm kiss, and released the sub to what she was certain would be a clamor to claim that beauty, polished to a shine by Ellie’s own hand.

    ***

    Of course I’m not the first to compare the writer/editor relationship to that of a submissive and dominant. It’s such a satisfying analogy, and it very well encompasses the rules of play, on both sides — the best relationships are marked by respect and clear communication on both sides, as well as a strong willingness to trust the other’s judgment. The Dom/editor needs to trust that the safeword/writer’s veto will be used when the sub/writer is unhappy — but that it won’t be used trivially. And the sub/writer needs to trust that the Dom/editor is working to make them (or their manuscript) into something brighter and truer, and not merely shaping it to their own design and ends.

    All in all, it’s a delicate balance of a relationship, and not without its perils.

    Me? Oh, I’m a switch. My safeword is “Oxford comma”.

    ***

    About Elizabeth

    Masquerading by day as an uptight corporate cog, Elizabeth spends her nights concocting gleefully smutty stories. She writes erotic romances for a wide span of worlds, genres, and orientations, and is also a senior editor for Torquere Press. When she’s not writing or editing, she loves a wide range of generally nerdy hobbies, including reading, photography, tabletop games, geeky yarncraft, and silly smartphone games. You can find her online at http://EveryWorldNeedsLove.blogspot.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EveryWorldNeedsLove.

    Elizabeth’s latest release is Foxfur, available from Torquere Press (www.torquerebooks.com) on November 13:

    Pleasure-slave Cheng takes no particular note of the red-haired woman when she purchases his services. But the morning after her departure, Cheng is taken into custody by the Emperor’s own guards and brought before one of the rare and terrifying Chained Mages. Already frightened and confused, things go from bad to worse for Cheng when the mage reveals the demonic nature of the red-haired woman. Now not only Cheng’s life, but the lives of everyone around him, depend on their finding the fox-demon as soon as possible.

    As a Chained Mage, Jin is at best feared, and at worst, despised. But he can’t allow his personal feelings to interfere with his mission, not even when his admiration for the slave deepens. In fact, Jin’s love may result in a disaster. The fox-demon has placed a spell in Cheng, a spell designed to turn his sexual energy to a murderous ends, endangering himself and everyone around him. And worst of all, they’re not the only hunters on the fox-demon’s trail!

  • NaNoWriMo Inspiration

    Today I’m striving on this fifth day of the National Novel Writing Month to create a word count worthy of the challenge – 50 thousand words in thirty days.  I’m grateful gracious A. Catherine Noon introduced me to the concept and encouraged me to throw down the gauntlet in 2011.  November has never been boring since.

    During this, my third year, I find NaNoWriMo website pep talks very moving as well as motivating.  That gifted, successful folks take time to bolster upcoming newbies warms my heart.  Today’s inspiring words by Catherynne M. Valente, author of twenty poetry and fiction books, are an excellent case in point.

    Here is my favorite line:

    To show up to play, puff out your chest like a damn proud toucan, and get s**t done.

    I can’t argue with that logic.  Now I need to post this tidbit and go follow her advice.  Happy writing!

    – 

  • The Cat’s Meow


    I have an office, which obviously has a door.  I also live with three cats.  The plan to close said door and write in peace was sheer fantasy.  Cats don’t like their humans being behind closed doors.  They will scratch and beg to be let in, often just to nap nearby or even walk away, smugly satisfied.
    Today, one of the little beasties got it into her head that she wanted my worship.  She’s supposed to be the laptop, not the machine absorbing my attention.

    A reasonable person would expect this feline attention seeker to vocalize.  But no.  Unfortunately, this cat devised other means from when I wore headphones to drown out distracting sounds.  So she doesn’t meow.  She sits on the guest bed near my elbow and drags her nails down the back of my upper arm.

    Ouch.
    I refused to get off my computer, though.  A deadline is a deadline.  All I needed was to finish one chapter.  Surely she could wait that long.
    No.
    I tried a variety of techniques to appease my little queen, all to no avail.  She didn’t much care for the desk space I cleared.  Efforts at coaxing her to settle on the bed failed.  Still, I persevered.  I stayed on the page.  Eventually she got bored, wandering off long enough for me to reach my goal.  Sweet!
    Now the chapter is finished, ending with an unexpected twist to fuel my next installment.  Success feels good.
    It’s kitty feeding time, though.  I better do my duty.  All three are likely to converge on me and things could get ugly.

    What personal goal do you have this week?

    –

  • Update, News, and Goings-On

    Hello, world!  I’M CAFFEINATED!

    Let’s see.  What’s new in the land of Writer Zen Garden?  WE HAVE A NEW MEETUP GROUP!  I’m so excited.  We are the Writer Zen Garden and joining up is free.  If you join, you will be prompted to set up a Meetup account, if you don’t already have on; you will then be kept apprised by email of events and goings-on in person.  If you’re interested, please check it out:

    Writer Zen Garden

    We are running two workshops at the moment.  The first is Walking In This World, using Julia Cameron’s book by the same title.  The second in her bestselling Artist’s Way trilogy, Walking focuses on expanding our creativity and learning tools that help us stay on the page.  It runs every other Sunday and we had our first meeting yesterday, October 13th, at Pumping Station: One.

    Secondly, we will have a Prompts Circle.  Our first meeting is this Saturday, October 19th, also at Pumping Station: One.  If you want some new ideas to play with in your writing, or just need to get back onto the page, join us!

    Finally, National Novel Writing Month is coming!  Every year in November, thousands of writers around the globe participate in the madness that is NaNo.  If you haven’t heard of it yet, or if you haven’t signed up for this year’s madness, visit their website.

    That’s all the news for now.  We are hard at work on Submission Guidelines for the blog and some more announcements throughout the rest of the year, leading up to our big announcement in January.  Be sure to stay tuned!

  • World War Z

    We welcome back a long-time member of the Writer’s Retreat, Evey, as a blogger here at the Writer’s Retreat.  Here’s her first of what we hope to be many, many posts!

    World War Z

    I’ve just finished rereading one of my favorite books, World War Z by Max Brooks. I was struck by its interesting story the first time through and this second reading has given me even more appreciation for how thorough his alternate universe is. I admire his ability to shift from tragedy, horror, satire, and yes, even humor as he retells the story of the WWZ.

    Subtitled ‘An Oral History of the Zombie War’, our narrator is tasked with chronicling a war mankind fought not against other men, but against the reanimated dead. The UN Postwar Committee sanctioned his writing, granting him access to soldiers, politicians and others from around the globe but in the end was only interested in the facts, casualty counts and battle strategies. Unable to let the ‘human factor’ go unheard, he wrote this book to keep the memories alive. “Because in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy?”

    The book is a series of interviews, beginning with the doctor in rural China who saw the first cases of the zombie disease. From there our narrator moves to Tibet where ‘shetou’, human smugglers, sneak millions of Chinese refugees across the border to supposed safety, unknowingly allowing the disease to spread.

    The histories come from across the globe, Antarctica, Finland, India and Israel as we watch each country react in their individualized ways to the crisis, some effectively, others not so much.

    There are stories of heroism, as one Indian military officer sacrifices himself by hand detonating a bomb to bring down a bridge to keep zombies from the civilians on the other side. The tone then switches to irony in Cuba, where with its large military presence; the government manages to easily defeat the zombie menace. And when millions of Americans build themselves makeshift boats and float their way to asylum they are placed in internment camps and forced to work menial jobs that regular Cubans don’t want– yard work and maid service.

    My favorite interview involves a female pilot whose plane goes down in a ‘white zone’, territory overrun by zombies. She makes radio contact with a ham-radio operator familiar with the area. ‘Metsfan’, as she calls herself, talks the pilot through a difficult three days and guides her to a place she can be seen and rescued. When asked later how she managed to survive alone the pilot pulls out her radio, which is found broken and rusted. And there are no records of a ham-operator with that call sign either…

    As the book progresses the world eventually begins to retake the planet, slowly defeating the ‘Zeke’, (one of the many slang terms for zombies). We see how the countries begin to put themselves back together and how they’ve changed; Russia is now a Holy Empire with the Czar as religious leader, China embraces democracy and America struggles to rebuild and understand that they are all part of the problem, and the solution.

    There is a movie starring Brad Pitt out now, it includes small details of these multiple interviews in its story, but twists them around a single hero as he helps find a cure for the plague. I prefer the book’s take on the story of millions of heroes who all had a hand in saving mankind.

  • Writer Wednesday – A Change in the Air


    Minutes ago I viewed lovely images of spring as captured by talented photography Eaton Bennett.  The delicate blooms are beautiful reminders of nature’s power of regeneration, as she aptly titled the series, and make me look forward to planting my spring flowering bulbs.  For here, in my little corner of the world, autumn takes a turn.

    Morning mists hang over the fields as trees unburden their branches for a welcome winter rest.  Having suffered lean summer months until this bountiful nut harvest, squirrels leap and bound, making drivers beware.  Crisp air beckons me out of the house to savor dazzling skies.
    If I seem to glorify fall, it’s because I adore this time of year.  Each season displays different delights, but October holds a special place in my heart.  Halloween fills me with a sense of whimsy.  Colorful foliage, the smells of bonfires and burning leaves, and birds flocking to migrate all enchant me.  I even look forward to plants going dormant after sweating over garden chores.
    Every year I enjoy these changes.  This month, having finished a small group workshop of Julia Cameron’s “Finding Water”, my inner artist awoke.  I walk the local riverbank, camera ready, enjoying a renewed creative flow.  With no idea what to write and choosing to ignore the resulting butterflies in my stomach, I look forward to November’s National Novel Writing Month.
    One large hurdle to writing fifty thousand new words next month lies in curbing my inherent perfectionism.  I’m notperfect; I simply strive for the impossible.  Already, this short post has taken a ridiculous amount of time while I seek improved grammar and more laconic phrasing.  On that note, I shall upload this little message forthwith.
    Whatever season sculpts your landscape, I hope you can take a deep breath of fresh air and delve into whatever art calls you.  As I hear repeatedly from gentle mentors, take small steps.  Set reasonable goals.  Be easy on yourself.  Mother Nature acts harsh at times but she generally prepares her charges with steady, gradual progress.
    Let me know which is your favorite season, and why.  Does weather affect your creative soul?  After you comment, please enjoy Ms. Bennett’s vision of spring:
    ~

  • Writer Wednesday – Going with the Flow

    I had a post due yesterday for Writer Wednesday and didn’t have the heart due to the anniversary of the 9/11 travesty.  Today, though, I realized that life should move on in honor of those we lost.  And so, here is a little tidbit I’ve postdated.

    Films are a passion of mine.  To my delight, some of the most iconic bits from my favorite flicks were happy accidents due to circumstance or a great ad lib.  In a different example, the crew members in “Alien” reacted with natural horror during that famous dinner incident.  Filmmakers cued only John Hurt in to the details regarding his character’s final scene.  It gives me ever greater appreciation for the process that is movie magic.
    Writing can benefit from such happenstance, as well.  While there is plenty of greatness that comes from scripting and outlines, we artists should never automatically toss out an idea just because it goes against our grand scheme.
    Sometimes we need to go with the flow.  Stumped on where to take the story next?  Follow a plotline on an odd tangent and see how your characters react.  The departure might result in an exciting direction no plan could foresee.
    I hope you free your mind to create something new, wonderful, and unexpected.  Now I need to go follow my own advice.  Happy writing!
    Oh, and if you want to check out some of these great movie moments, here you go.  Enjoy.  You’ll want to expand the video to full screen for the all important captions.  Oh, and there is adult language.  Sorry about that.

  • Writer Wednesday – One Writer’s Approach to Writing a Novel: Step 1 – The Picture

    In my previous post, I wrote about the process of writing a novel.  Today I wanted to discuss my first step.

    I start with a picture, or a sense of a scene like in a movie. I’m a very visual thinker, in that I think in images. I write the scene so I can put it into words, clarify it, make it real.

    I get images from anywhere. I see people in a park. I see an image on the internet. I get a scene in my head. I see something, some consequence or un-told potential story, in a television show or movie.

    The trick is to follow that thing you see in your head. I’ve had writers tell me, “I don’t write out of order.” Yet, these same folks are blocked and not moving forward on their story. “I see this thing over here, but I have to finish the first part before I can write it.” Why? Story is sacred. If you see it, write it. You can always go back to that first scene when you’re done. But if you have a scene in your head clamoring to get out, respect your own process and, by all that’s holy, put it down on paper or by keyboard.

    A couple resources:

    First, a book – Josip Novakovich’s Fiction Writer’s Workshop.
    In it, Mr. Novakovich gives you an entire chapter on “Sources of Fiction” wherein he gives you examples and exercises for finding inspiration for stories. In my opinion, this book is a must-have for writers and that particular chapter is a must-do.

    Second, a thought on pictures.
    Google Images is a treasure-trove of ideas, as are image-specific sites like Imgur. I love to browse BeatifulMag, a fantastic, gorgeous site (not work-safe) dedicated to the beauty of the male form.  My husband’s site, Wolfshead Photography, focuses on the female form; as does Charles Oliver Jones.  Wherever you find images that speak to you, write about them – who is in the picture? I don’t mean in a literal sense, as in “Who is that model.” No, I mean something deeper. In your mind, in the privacy of your own Story, who is that person? What are they doing? Where is that place? What’s going on there?

    Third, prompt yourself.
    Writing prompts are a writer’s gold. Learn how to use them. Search the internet for the word “prompts” and do one of them every day for a week. Gather some other writing-minded buddies and go to a café or quite place for 2 hours and share prompts in increments of 15 minutes’ writing time, 10 minutes sharing time until the 2 hours is up – I guarantee it will fly by.

    However you get ideas, trust them and write to them. Set a goal of filling a notebook a month with ideas, prompts, sketches, and miscellany. Play with your writing and write the same story three different times – once from the main character’s point of view, once from the villain’s, and once from you as the author writing about watching the events first hand. See what you learn and are inspired to write next.

    Then write that next thing.

    Above all, write.

    Write on!