Daffodil Meadow by Ann Horn

April, 2010 "Pinch Hit" The Weather Card Do the Process Spring in a Muffin New On the Web Work in Progress

Dear Cowgirls and Friends,

April overwhelmed me, pure and simple. There were a lot of good things in my California trip, but there were also parts of the trip that did not go smoothly, and I ended up spread way too thin. The whole thing was a whirlwind, and I haven't, overall, gone that short on sleep for such a long period in a long time (which is saying a lot, for me). Some parts of the experience were also made more complicated and frustrating by poor planning on the part of others. I managed, in amongst a whirl of grandsons, doing some things with my friend, Laura, who I stay with in Sunnyvale, novel revision, solar cooking events and meetings, and more, to get about half a newsletter full of rough draft done, and here it is 4/30, and there is just no way I can put out the kind of Express I usually manage this month. Wouldn't you know it would be a short month to boot. But maybe Josh and I can still get something out before midnight our time.

The weather's been weird. It snowed, sleeted, and hailed the first week of April in Idaho (though not enough of any to break the drought), and now it is too cold here again, though I hear there were a few really warm days while I was gone. There were a few really nice days in California and one or two that were downright hot, but mostly it was colder there, too. I was worried about frying in the April sun like last year, and instead I found myself wishing for flannel and polar fleece. I flew home on Thursday with a layover in Salt Lake City that involved delays at least partly due to the blizzard that was blowing there. All my plum trees at home are blooming and it is too cold for them or for the bees they need to pollinate. They say we had snow again earlier this week, and today has alternated between cold wind and rain that almost turns to snow or sleet.

Snow Blossoms by Marc and Nina P.

While striking in a photograph, the conjunction of snow and blossoms is not a happy one for the orchardist or for the bees and other pollinator insects.

The Weather Card

All the way back to "It was a dark and stormy night," weather has played a major role in writings of both fiction and non-fiction. Weather, whether seasonable or unseasonable, is a huge source of complication and conflict, in real life and in the land of make-believe. Weather complications can run from the relatively trivial scenarios of rain on the day of the big parade or a warm wind hitting a winter carnival all the way through to absolute disasters of crop failure and famine or loss of life due to weather emergencies. Try a write through some bad or weird weather and see where it takes you. If you have a work in progress that is bogging down, trying throwing some interesting weather into the mix. I think of this as playing a weather card.

Feel Free I by Jan Eelse Noordhuis

Do the Process

From my statistics page, I know that some people are exploring my new Free Weekly Take-a-Write Prompts, and some people are even checking out my write from each prompt (Josh is working on a permanent private archive so people who purchase whole prompt sheets will have access to the writes I have done, and we will notify by email when that is accomplished). I hope at least some of you on the list are part of these statistics, and I hope those who are checking my writes have done their own write first, because that is the way to get the most benefit from sharing freewrites.

If you are very new to the whole idea of freewriting, do not worry one bit if some of your writes seem dull or mundane or if you build up strings of 'I don't know what to write' or 'ummm' remarks to keep your pen moving. That is part of the process, so just forge on through and keep going. Over time, there will be more and more sparkle and brilliant bits in your freewrites as you learn to forge through, beneath, above, and around the mundane. Freewriting can do so much to help your writing, but only if you actually do the writes. Just knowing what it could do for you will not help your writing. You have to do the process, over and over, to train your mind and hands to slip right into gear and go for it. For those of you who are practicing with me, way to go! For those who haven't yet taken the plunge, I encourage you to give it a try.

Spring in a Muffin

spring rhubarb by Terry 'Doc' Thorne

Rhubarb—sign of spring in the garden, and a tasty ingredient in muffins.

I've got to give you at least one recipe, so here is a good one for spring. Lots of things are up and growing by April, and often one sign of burgeoning spring is the appearance of rhubarb in gardens and markets. A great way to use those sprightly stalks is in rhubarb pecan muffins. These muffins are moist and delicious, whether served hot or at room temperature. I used to bake them in mini-muffin pans for my granddaughter and her friends when they were little, and it was one of their favorite snacks.

New On the Web

I am now on Facebook, if any of you want to hook up with me there. If I don't know you well, from IWWG or forums past or my local life or somesuch, please mention that you are a Write 'em Cowgirl (or friend of), so I'll know you're not a stranger (I already had one rather odd-looking guy who had no friends in common with me try to hook up). I have also joined She Writes and have posted a bit in the "Fiction", "Novel Writing", and "NaNoWriMo" groups, as well as on the main discussion forum. So far it seems like a website with a lot to offer. It's free to join, so check it out if you haven't yet. There are at least a few other IWWG members there, which is nice, and I'm hoping that more Guild members will join.

I managed to get a review up on Amazon for Petals from the Sky, by list-subscriber Mingmei Yip. You can see it, as well as my few other reviews on Amazon, here.

Favorite Holly Shop Resources

Work in Progress

My revision on the my bounty-tracker story made considerable progress in California, despite all the other jobs and distractions I had there. I am more than two-thirds through this stage of revision, and still having a terrific time working on it. I really do love this story, and it's going to be so much better after the type-in. I am so grateful to Holly Lisle for all the help I've gotten from her excellent Holly Shop learning materials. I'd hoped to come home with it all done, but as crazy as some things got during my visit, I'll settle for close, as long as there is progress. I love watching my stack of colored revision plot cards growing.

All things considered though, I hope I can manage things so that next year I'm focused on laying down rough draft while I'm at Laura's. Traveling with a whole novel manuscript on paper—with cards, etc.—makes for a heavy and somewhat nerve-wracking load. It was worth it this time though. Once I know if this is agent-worthy material, I can get back to creating more outlines and having more flexibility in choosing when I do what… at least until I have contracts to go with the agent I hope to find.

Me and my two grandsons, Elliot and Nik.

I hope your works in progress are going well, and that you are giving yourselves some time to write on the wild side. I know this letter is short, but Josh and I will both try to make May extra-special to make up for it. On the plus side, I survived the trip, exhausting as it was, so at least we can all hope for a May issue! Meanwhile, take care and write on. Your vision is depending on you.

Best Regards, Sharon