Channeling Your Emotions Into Your Writing by Santa O'Byrne
I was limb shaking angry a few days ago and in the midst of that hard, tight feeling I remember thinking – I really should go and write. Right in the middle of it. How absurd is that? To feel such an intense emotion and my fingers were itching to write. I wanted to write the fight scene between my hero and heroine where, at the crux of it, they confront what they are feeling for one another and she challenges him to recognize and accept his feelings. In a perfect world my laptop and ergonomically correct chair will appear and off I’d go and finally get those ten pages written because, naturally, they fall into bed , their anger transferred to pure lust.
Alas, this is not a perfect world we live in. I had to reign in my anger and move on with my day. I’d get back to writing all that delicious emotion later. I was sure I could somehow recapture the essence of what I had felt and translate that to paper.
The truth of the matter is, I don’t think I ever captured that degree of anger. How do I conjure up that deep an emotion? What memories do I dig into – save the ones just felt earlier in the day – and make them work for me? Should I have engaged in some sort of exercise to make it all come back to me. I mean, I didn’t need to recall the entire incident or the events that led up to me walking around tight from the nape of my neck to the tips of my toes. I just wanted the essence of it. The recollection of the sensations would have been enough for me.
We’ve heard the platitudes.
“Oh, I know exactly how you feel!”
Or
“Well, I can tell you what I’d do if that ever happened to me!”
If you know how I feel or what you would do in my shoes, kindly share those pearls of wisdom with me. Are there exercises that you use to write what can be a pivotal scene in your story? Should I just let go and let ‘er rip and see where the chips fall? I pour my heart and soul into my writing but I’d like to know how that process works for you. Feel free to share parts of your stories that you feel best express an intense level of emotion that both the hero and heroine are feeling. That emotion can be anger, fear, lust, love, terror, anxiety. Consider it a smorgasbord of emotional tidbits.
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127 comments:
I love writing deep emotion, but it's a definite struggle for me. My general strategy is to listen to music until I get really worked up or really depressed, and then just start writing. I think anger is the hardest emotion for me to capture. That's a tough one.
Wellll, I'm not sure what we have in our head to put on paper ever really goes on the paper quite as emotionally, quite as deeply, quite as brilliantly as we want. It's a whole "head perfection" thing.
I have used my emotions to channel into scenes--but when I do that, I'm usually writing out of order. I don't mind that, but it's not how I like to write. I'm very chronological as much as possible. Or linear, I guess. Whichever.
To get in touch with the emotions of the scene--I do a sort of method actor/method writer sort of thing. Whosever POV I'm in, I try to get into their character and once I'm there, I'm feeling what they're feeling. (Maybe not as extreme, but I try.)
I think anger is the hardest emotion for me to capture.
Anger is astonishingly easy for me to recapture. I only have to drive in traffic for five minutes and I'm enraged enough to write several pissed-off scenes.
Sweet, nice scenes are the hardest ones for me to write. I always want to crack a joke in the middle of it.
So far, I've had luck with Music to inspire me for certain emotions. There are songs I know will hit the spot so I have them on itunes.
Maybe find soem songs that remind you of a time in your life or an event that makes you remember ho wyour anger felt from a distance.
Indifference is pretty hard for me to capture. I get on the fringe of indifference with my characters and they seem to balk at the idea (even though it was the character who took me to indifference first).
When I write emotion I just think about the steps I fall into when faced with emotional situations myself and put it down on paper. I don't really have a method. Like yesterday, I was holding onto an apple. The outside texture was smooth, skin glossy and the weight of the apple in my hand made me want to wrap my fingers around it and squeeze until it crumbled. What I was hearing in my head was my semi-villain, Kady, say: "Anything can be crushed. Metal. Fruit. Bones. Dreams. Emotions. Hearts. You learn eventually, it's all about how much pressure you apply at the right second." And what she was doing was staring Sadie in the eyes and telling herself that she was going to kill her. Come hell or high water.
I tend to write emotion impulsively. If I'm writing and I come up on an emotion that's usually difficult for me to describe, I have to think about how the reaction needs to affect the story.
Like Hal and Sabrina, I listen to music. Constantly. And if it's not playing, I'm hearing it in my head anyway. And if I'm working on something, I have the tendency to repeat a song over and over again until I've finished that scene. Like sex scenes. I will listen to the same song until I'm finished writing the last word.
For me, what Wordsworth said about poetry being "emotion recollected in tranquility" applies to fiction as well. Anything I write in the heat of experience ends up being irrational and incoherent--therapeutic perhaps but not usable for an audience. What does work for me is using memory to tap into emotions. For the "black moment" in TLWH I pulled from the darkest moment of my own life, decades in my past.
Hellie, you're so cynical. LOL
I'm like you. The sweet nice stuff is the stuff that's the hardest for me because to me, it seems the most unrealistic stuff to happen.
Yeah, what was it Oscar Wilde said? "A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
And if I’m working on something, I have the tendency to repeat a song over and over again until I’ve finished that scene. Like sex scenes. I will listen to the same song until I’m finished writing the last word.
I do this too. I do this when I'm not writing too, which compells my co-workers to blugeon me and rip my Toby Keith CDs from my computer and fling them out the window. (I bet they could write a few angry scenes!)
I'm no help here. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't I write something else until it comes to me. Honestly, no technique. That I am aware of.
I probably have a technique.
You pirates! Wanting me to figure this out! I don't know!
I'm off to take my DH to the airport. Since I'm home he needs to leave for a ten day business trip. I'll think about this and see if I can come up with something meaningful, later.
I repeat at work too. Except no one says anything to me. LOL
I'm buried under work in my cabin, but as soon as I can make it above decks, I'll join in the fun. Looks like you all are carrying on well. Keep at it!
(And I so wish "buried under work" was a euphemism in this situation. *sigh*)
yeah, the sweet stuff kills me. I hate epilogues. They're always so sappy *g*.
Hello friends,
I'm buried as well between work and the fundraiser but I'll be back to hear more from you lovlies. Who knows, I may even post a bit tonight. Please note that would mean 10 or 11pm which by most of our lovlies standards means bedtime. Not I.
Back in a few.
Ohhhh, Sin, that scene you describe with the apple followed by your villain's words are so powerful! Wow. Fantastic. I love that quiet intensity you created.
I was just thinking that the highly emotional scenes come to me in dialogue first, but that's pretty much how all of the first draft is; fragments of conversation and arguments that are just raw hurt feelings begging for some order. The emotion is there but it's highly melodramatic. The imagery seems to come in a second wave and it changes the tone of the raw dialogue. So, although nothing is very good on the first try, hopefully I can add a layer that helps. Something like the apple. :)
Sappy epilogues make me roll my eyes, but I just finished "With Seduction in Mind" last night (yeah, I know this has been out like a month or two) and cracked up at the epilogue because it ends with "And then Sebastian...swept up Daisy in his strong masculine arms and gave her a passionate kiss"--or something of that ilk. It's funny because the heroine had been typing up a manuscript for a writer who was using these cliches. *LOL* Cute book.
Hellie says, "To get in touch with the emotions of the scene–I do a sort of method actor/method writer sort of thing. Whosever POV I’m in, I try to get into their character and once I’m there, I’m feeling what they’re feeling."
I probably do this too. I don't know if I've ever timed my anger or sadness to a scene in a story. In a weird way, I can't match MY anger to the POV of a character. They are different. It's almost an escape to absorb myself in their problems.
I think I live in a universe parallel to the one in which you guys live. :) I love epilogues, especially those for Jill Barnette's Bewitching, EJ's Pleasure for Pleasure, and JQ's second epilogue for When He Was Wicked.
I liked With Seduction in Mind a lot too, Hellie. I think it's Guhrke's best since And Then He Kissed Her.
Argh! Fine, he got off without his coat. So, emotions inta the writin' world. If I were logical, I'd be workin' on a scene with frustration at the top... But logical isn't even me shadow, so I'm not.
When it comes ta the actual puttin' the word on paper (screen) I jus' don't think much a' how or what... I tell ya, crew, I jus' do. It's what the characters are ready fer and where they take it. And if they be angry, we write angry. Lovin'? Lovin'. Logical? Logical. I 'ave very little ta do wit' it.
Now, when I edit...then I 'ave ta work on it.
How do I gets inta the mood? I think I be very empathetic, the words start and I slide right inta where I need ta be. But they take me there. The situation I'm writin'.
So, mutant credits in big font.
I'm wit' Janga, I like epilogues...prologues, too.
I have found inspiration in music, thanks ta Sin and some suggestions. And dreams will 'elp me find the anchor point a' any scene. Especially if'n the story came from a dream...
I find it fascinatin' how many a' ya plan out the emotional scenes and put yerself there ta write them...
I'm mental enough!
Janga, I did enjoy every one of Jill Barnett's sappy, sweet, frothy endings. I never mind becoming lost in her sentimental worlds. (Is the Bewitching epilogue where the hero laughs and someone looks around for seals? *LOL*)
When sappy endings are done well, I don't mind. But much, much of the time, they're just...sappy. Grant you, I love Happy Endings. It's like I go in search of romance novels where the hero and heroine don't end up together *coughs*NICHOLASSPARKS*coughs*, but they're kinda like sex scenes. Very cliched and hard to handle with any finesse. *LOL*
Okay, I've thought of something else Santa might mean by anger, et al--I have taken my anger or depression (which is anger without enthusiasm by the way) and channeled it into writing. Not necessarily writing an angry scene or sad scene--but basically taking that passionate energy and using it for the good of writing. Now that I will do frequently.
When I'm very happy, I find it hard to write. *LOL* I write more prolifically when I'm unhappy. (Which it's fortunate then that I'm so unhappy so much of the time. *LOL*)
Chance says, "logical isn’t even me shadow."
So cool. You have some great one liners, Chance. The problem is, how do we make you make a nice, logical folder to save them in for later use? LOL
Melissa - Why would ya want ta make me make a nice logical folder? All I do when I gets those things...saw a real pretty one at Beverly Fabrics the other day, btw...flowers and butterflies... I could get a black one and decorate it wit' pirate stickers...and...
Where was I?
Oh, me one liners and keepin' 'em organized. Well, they be here, on the blog. I can finds them later if'n I needs them.
But, oddly 'nuff, I got a great memory fer the great ones.
Glad ya liked it! ;)
Hellie - Read a funny epilogue in a Jennifer Crusie novel the other day. One with a lot of physics lessons in it... Again, name escapes me totally. Had a pair of pretty shoes on the cover wit' cherries on the insteps...
Uh...where was I? Oh, the epilogue. Sort a' summed up the stories a' the rest a' the crewmates. Lord, the woman can write funny!
Depression bein' anger without enthusiasm??? Yeah, also fear without enthusiasm. It be hard ta write those emotions when the enthusiasm ain't there. Been there, done that. Though, ta be real honest, I seldom have enthusiasm fer such emotions. I thought at first you'd written without energy... That I can identify wit' better.
Anger with energy. Fear without energy. Save fer their personal little bits a' heartburn energy, just hoverin' and makin' one miserable...
Thanks, Chance. I'm glad I'm not alone. :)
Hellie, the Bewitching epilogue has Alec flying around the room in a chair--at the mercy of three daughters who have inherited their mother's brand of magic. LOL It's just a perfect concluding scene.
2nd: Bet Me--that's the book. Though I remember that book for the chocolate Krispy Kremes and not convos about physics. (Please.)
I never really liked Krispy Kremes...but I found the talk a' physics fascinatin'! Strange attractors, chaos theory...loved how she wove it inta the story.
I must admit, she be an author I'd love ta discuss in detail...how does she do that and how can I do it?
*comes up for air for just a minute*
I can't write happy scenes if I'm not happy. Though I seem to be able to write arguments when I'm not angry. (Shut up Hellie)
I like sappy stuff so I'm with Janga and Chance. I also think Chance has been celebrating being home a little too much and should cut back on the rum.
That epilogue Janga describes is what epilogues should be IMO. It has to have a purpose and fit with the book. If it only exists to get in an extra scene with the H/H, then it's likely the book could have done without it. Though again, that's just my opinion.
Checks are processed, onto the invoice reconciliations. *sigh* This is what I get for playing online too much. LOL!
I never really liked Krispy Kremes
I will never understand you.
Chance - Check out her site. Her blog is a blast and she has some great articles and tips for writers.
www.jennycrusie.com
And the best part, it's called Argh Ink! A girl after our pirate loving hearts.
Janga, I prefer epilogues that happen a few years down the road. Proof that the HEA is continuing and not just in that moment of the book. (I remember that one now...that one is funny. *LOL* I've been tempted to reread her books lately.)
Celebratin'? I jus' left me husband ta fly ta NY fer ten days, am on me way ta me doc's fer the yearly womanly stuff...
And want ta work on me nasty story but can't until I am done wit' all a' that. And workin' on Friday's blog.
Rum? Where's the rum?
I'm always like this! :)
Hellie - I love donuts. I adore donuts. I like to use donuts in me meditations.
I never really liked Krispy Kremes. I know, it's insane. What else would ya expect from me?
*kissy, kissy
Krispy Kremes aren't my favorites either. But I wouldn't turn one down.
Just sayin'...
Never met a donut I'd turn down. Yet.
Well, if'n it were coated in coconut. I don't like coconut...
Hels - Ya got pirates planned fer the Sunday Hottie? Saturday be Talk Like A Pirate Day!
Terrio - I'll check out Jenny's site...when I'm done at the docs! Gonna get a bump on me head looked at... (Yeah, suspicions confirmed!)
Something like the apple.
Melissa, you're so sweet.
It was weird how it happened. I was planning on eating the apple and then I think I just zoned out while holding it. Probably a good thing. I've been know to be dangerous with a butter knife while paying attention. No telling what would happen if I was manning it while daydreaming. LOL
O
M
G
Who said they didn't care for Krispy Kremes?
Who said she eats her apples with a butter knife?
Touche.
Santa, what an awesome post. I think I do the same as Hellie and Melissa. I totally put myself in their character. And I tend to write the first draft in first person. I think it helps get me there. I wish I could give a great example of emotion, but I don't think I've found that balance between not enough and over-dramatic.
BTW - Can anyone teach me how to do the little accent thing over the "e" on a keyboard? I've never been able to figure that out.
Renee - You write it in 1st then change it? Really? I don't think I could do that. Wow. And I do admire those of you who can slide into the skin of your characters. I'm not good at that at all.
Thank you, Sin, I think we should have KK for our writing meeting Saturday...while you try to find my worms.
I don't like most donuts but KK's. I don't like cake donuts--they're too...dry. KK's melt in your mouth like sin.
I like Renee's technique of writing in 1st POV and then switching it over. It would pretty much guarantee deep POV. Good idea!
Terri, for the accent over the e: é, like in résumé. I just replace the e with the symbol. [In Word, highlight the "e", select insert symbol, select the é and replace]. Then change the font to match if it doesn't. There might be a better way! Sometimes it fixes it automatically, or I'll deliberately spell it wrong, get the little red line, and the options for the correct way has the accent! lol
Yeah, I switch it over into the next draft. And it does totally get you there. You should try it, Terri, especially in what you want to be a very intense scene. In PTH, Braden is taken captive and tortured. Part of that torture is he's given mushrooms, which makes him move into Berserker mode but he's strapped to a table. It's a very intense scene and I needed to get into his head to think those convoluted thoughts, to see what he thought he saw (mainly his wife being accosted), smell (his own burning flesh), all the while drugged. I had to do it all 1st person. It's also my opening scene of the story.
I do love the epilogue for exactly Hellie's reason of proof of the HEA. On epilogues and donuts, I can almost find a logical thread of thought. They have much in common: Are they really needed? Maybe not, but they make you happy. lol
I also love it when the epilogue foreshadows a sequel. I did that with my book, but who knows when I'll get to that story. My ideas for the sequel are much darker than the first so not sure if that's a good idea. Any examples of the tone in a series changing from book to book?
Renee, I do think that's great to write in the first person for a deeper POV and then switching. I keep saying I'm going to try that but it sounds like too much work. lol
Melissa - So that means if I want to do that in here, I have to type in Word first? I guess I could do that. THANKS!
Renee - That scene sounds amazing. Maybe I will try that. I've written very small bits in first person, and really blogs are all in first person, so I could try this. Thanks for the tip.
Terri, yes, I don't know how to do that here. Which reminds me, how do you do the italics here? Cntrl I gives me my favorites menu for some reason. I hadn't figured it out and have been too lazy to copy italics over from Word!
Oh, it worked!
Shoot - try again.
Type < i > but without the spaces and then type what you want italicized. Then close it with < / i > without spaces.
Lets see if this works.
Yay! lol Thank you. :)
Hmm, I'm not sure if I got it so excuse my practice post.
Like this?
One good turn deserves another. LOL! You're welcome!
Melissa, you definitely should try it. If you only think about it in terms of one scene at a time, it's not that much work. In fact, I tend rewrite the scene in 3rd as soon as the first is complete.
Terri, you write contemporaries which would probably make those emotionally charged scenes so much easier to write in 1st person, especially if it comes from personal experience. Scenario, and this is totally off the wall, your heroine walks in on her boss and her father, who is still married to her mother, doing the dirty. If you write it in first person you can get the before as she's walking in, the during at what she's seeing, feeling etc, and the after. In third person writers tend to beat around the bush, but in first person you can get to the nitty gritty of personal emotional experience even if it came from your dog dying when you were five. Your readers will be able to connect even if they've never experienced this exact thing because most readers have experienced a betrayal of some sort, and most readers have had to come to terms of whether or not to keep a secret acting as if all is okay, or to spill the beans.
Terri, was what you showed me for italics HTML? I wonder if this would work as a way to insert the accent here? I copied it over from a web site http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/finetypography/ht/grave.htm
In HTML, create grave accent marks by typing & (ampersand symbol) then the letter (A, e, etc.), then the word grave, then ; (semicolon) such as:
& egrave; (no space) for è
Oh, that works. Now, how will I remember all that?! LOL!
Yep, HTML can be your friend. If it doesn't make you crazy.
è
Renee, you are right. In the big picture, this could save a lot of time. I love what you said to Terri:
In third person writers tend to beat around the bush, but in first person you can get to the nitty gritty of personal emotional experience...
(Had to practice inserting the italics. lol)
I'll definitely have to try this, Renee. I'm thinking 1st POV would make it more immediate and more internal. In third it would be easier to miss the impact. I do have some emotional scenes coming up, so I'll try it.
Terri, most likely the HTML would make me cross-eyed. For instance, dare I mention, is the accent perhaps going the wrong direction? Good luck finding which command for which direction. LOL
OK, shoot me. I don't find Krispy Kremes a big deal. But I love donuts! Especially chocolate covered glazed... Best ever was one in SoCal, big thing, peanut butter ribbon woven into the dough, then chocolate glazed... Chocolate chips sprinkled into the dough.
*drool
Probably had a bazillion calories.
And I jus' bought a new gizmo thing ta cut me apples into sections. Tried one a' the new types, Honey Crisp at Mum's. OMG. That is one awesome apple.
huh. It works!
Renee - you may have just clicked something lose in my head for the black moment for the book I'm plotting. thanks *g*
è
Got to love html, Melissa You can even do it boldly;)
Oh, my head. Too much learning going on. lol Did I mention I like donuts?
Hal, glad I could help!
Chance, I haven't had crispy cremes in gravy knows how long. I haven't had anything with any kind of wheat-gluten in forever, except when I had strep during the spring and I thought heck I'm sick anyway might as well have me some pizza.
Only like? ;)
Not sure we can let ya on the ship if'n it only be like...
Eww, not in gravy please! LOL Renee, you had me with the trying 1st person but now I seriously doubt your judgment.
Damn, made meself hungry. Not much here to eat...guess I could do microwave popcorn...
Did I read that wrong again? I have a serious problem. Okay, I hadn't heard of "gravy knows how long" before but it sounds like a while. lol
Renee - KK in gravy... I think it could work. Depending on the gravy. Melissa, gravy can go with anything... I think I could put me Mom's sausage gravy on anythin'.
Ick, and I did something wrong with my tags. LOL
Serious gravy folks may use gravy in place of god. :)
I think I'm looking for accent ague (I probably spelled that wrong but I'm too lazy to look it up right now.)
Between the donuts and the gravy, I'm going to gain a pound just reading this blog today.
I had one show up out of nowhere, too. Some html tags are runnin' amock!
I'd like to learn how ta do the umla above the "u" in uber. I think it's called an umla. I know how to do it with word, but not with html. I have a basic html book around somewhere...
I'm confusing y'all. Okay, gravy was a favorite staple of mine. Like Chance says gravy goes with anything! French Fries, potatoes, biscuits, chicken. . .but sadly I haven't had gravy in a very, very long time. It's one of those things that my body treats like poison. So, the gravy knows how long, is a very long time, especially since I've missed chocolate gravy and biscuits for the last two Christmas'.
Geez, Chance, I just want to know how to type my name. *grins*
We have a new drink. Good Gravy and Granola. With a Krispy Kreme donut on the side.
Chance - I want to try one of those ones with the peanut butter and chocolate. I have a feeling that could actually kill me.
Good Gravy and Granola, almost sounds like a Sonic Blizzard ice cream.
Ah ha! Everything is clear now. :) Yes, seriously, I think you're onto something with first person. I'm definitely going to experiment. I've always had trouble not to headhop too (although improving) and using first person (even if I switch it back to third) will really help.
Terrio - Love, they were killers.
u
u
u
Trying the umla, crew. Unsuccessfully...
OK, giving up.
Good Gravy and Granola...hmmmm. That might work.
I got ta go get somethin' ta eat...
über
ü
And persistance pays off. lol Congrats, Chance. :)
HA! Got it! Now, how did I do that...?
Think Santa is goin' ta show up tanight and jus' shake her head at the lot a' us.
And then go make donuts.
Hey, only a few more comments to break 100! We can do it, right? Now about that ice cream...Chance, you were speaking in a language I didn't understand. Umbra, umbla, ole`, umla?
Chocolate gravy and donuts would be good. I do like chocolate gravy and biscuits.
Then again, I've just managed to horrify the student worker. She started it. She mentioned hunting for crabs--and I said that would be fun, so to speak. And then I said I'd like to go frog gigging (someone met their husband this way, I figure it can't hurt)--and she asked what that was.
I explain and then she asks, slightly disgusted, "Have you had frog legs?" "Oh, yeah, they're good." "Oh. Do they taste like chicken? People say everything tastes like chicken." "Not exactly," I say, "Squirrel, now that tastes like chicken."
She had no response to this.
I've had squirrel. It might have tasted like chicken. I'm not sure. I was traumatized by the whole experience and have thus blocked it out. But it probably tasted like chicken.
chocolate gravy. Mmm. My two favorite foods being combined.
I make a mean gravy to go with amazing fried chicken. Can anybody tell I grew up in the South?
I have had turtle. Cajun style straight out of New Orleans, at least according to my dad.
Okay, just the mention of frog legs grossed me. We've had way too many as pets to think about anything-ewwww
You've all lost your minds, but it's great the tangent on the absent foodie's blog is a food topic.
I was watching a British talk show the other night and they were showing pets that belonged to world leaders. When they showed Kim Jong Il's (sp?!) cat, it was just a plate of food. LOL! That Graham Norton, he's so funny.
My ex brought home squirrel once. I refused to have anything to do with it so he cooked it and ate it himself. My cast iron skillet was never the same. I saw people eating frog's legs on the cruise I took many moons ago, but I have no desire to try them myself.
My kiddo loves chocolate gravy. She's such a southern child. LOL!
I've also had turtle! My dad fixed it when I was in 2nd grade. I remember it vividly. He fried it up like chicken. *LOL* And it tasted a lot like it--or like frog legs, actually...not quite chicken, but not bad.
I got to watch him dress the turtle...it was quite the learning experience.
Terri, there was nothing wrong with your cast iron skillet. *eye roll* Please.
I do have limits though. Absolutely no possum...and I think raccoon tastes gross. (I only had a bite.) Venison isn't the tastiest, but not bad in chili.
It's not really the squirrel that's the problem, it's the hair on the squirrel. Which is hard to get off. Or so it was explained to me.
For this Yankee, anything that can qualify as typical road kill is not going on my table. Though I have had venison (that's deer meat, right?) and if cooked correctly, it can be good. But you really have to know what you're doing.
And now I feel terrible for that poor little turtle. I mean, it's not like he could have run away or something.
LOL This is my new favorite method for writing great emotion. Mix it up with getting distracted by food. :)
Renee! Like Hal, I think you may have clicked something loose for my story. Renee said,
It’s a very intense scene and I needed to get into his head to think those convoluted thoughts, to see what he thought he saw (mainly his wife being accosted), smell (his own burning flesh), all the while drugged.
I have a loosely similar situation with my heroine. At first it was mental illness issues but I've changed that to it only appearing that way. Actually it's drug induced halluciations, which isn't found out until very late. Part of my evil plot. Anyway, I've been shying away from getting into her head. Wonder why? lol Purposely I've stuck with the hero, but I'm at the point where I really need to get into HER head; to think those "convoluted thoughts" but still try to maintain a "is this real?" doubt (that being is Ben a ghost or her hallucination) in the reader.
For some reason, I think I can get into those thoughts in first person a lot better than I thought I would be able to. Okay, working on it and wanted to say a huge thank you. :)
I had rabbit once. Thank god I can't remember it.
I'm finicky for a reason. The smell of gizzards frying still makes me gag. Thank god I don't have to deal with that. Or chicken livers. Or hearts. Or anything else anyone can think up to fry. Just because it's fried does NOT mean it will taste good. Regardless if it's in lard or not.
Sin - I won't eat those gizzards and livers alone, but I don't mind cutting them up to go in the Thanksgiving stuffing. Or using them for bait when fishing. I'd rather slide some chicken liver on a hook than a worm or minnow. *shivers*
Melissa - You'll have to let us know how it goes.
It was a snapper turtle. He was destroying our catfish population--Dad was going to kill it regardless. We just happened to eat it. (Mom was in the hospital at the time, so dad was "baching"--cooking with a 7 year old in the house. We didn't live near a McD's--so turtle it was.)
(Actually I love chicken gizzards. Not so big on the liver though.)
Terri, none of our squirrel ever had hair. Your ex, as with most of his life skills, was clearly crap at skinning his kills.
That doesn't surprise me. Not one bit.
Gross. Gross. Gross.
I don't mind baitin' a hook, but keep that crap away from me. Worms are meant to be fish food.
The first I heard about eating turtle was when I ran over a huge snapping turtle out on a logging trail (yes, if it was so big why didn't I see it is another problem) and told a friend's dad and he was all, "why didn't you throw it in the trunk." Ah, no. It gives me shivers just to think about it. Much like lately these kamakazee birds I have that keep knocking themselves out flying into my patio window. Every year at this time they get DRUNK on these berries (not making that up). :)
“why didn’t you throw it in the trunk.”
The answer is: because it's a snapping turtle. It would end up doing one of those Tommy Boy-Deer Waking Up things and you'd be missing fingers--and for what? Fresh turtle soup? Order it at the restaurant.
I mean, I'm for eating it. I'm just not for hunting it or cutting it up.
Exactly. It's a snapping turtle. I hate nature so much more than when I was a kid. lol
When I hit a deer, the antler came flying right off. I think one was sticking out of my grill. So for some reason (I was in complete shock and standing in the rain on a very dark back road on AR) I threw it in the back of my truck.
The cop that took the report asked if he could have it so I gave it to him. Like five other men that weekend complained that I didn't give it to them. Really? This much love for one little antler?! Gah!
Okay first I'm laughing that you she-womaned the carcass into the back of your truck--and then I'm cracking up that every male wanted it.
Reminds me of the time Pam and I went to the local store to get soda, and the Budweiser guy offered to load up our truck with beer (this was just how cute she was, it was disgusting)--and she was, "But I'm not 21!" (We were so pathetically naive.) We get back to the house and her brother, upon hearing this tale, goes, "You turned down free beer! You're no sister of mine!"
No No! LOL! The antler. I only threw the antler in the back of the truck. The deer was laying in a ditch and I didn't know if it was dead but I wasn't getting close enough to let a pissed off deer kick me in the head.
LOL!
I can't believe y'all turned down free beer either. What is wrong with you?!
We were 17. We didn't like beer.
I wouldn't turn it down now, but no one would offer it now. *LOL*
We've gone from KK to roadkill and free beer! I love it here.
Melissa, YOU GO GIRL! And do let us know how it's going.
Chocolate gravy, I never knew what it was until I started dating hubs. And it took me about 15 years to even try it. But, I have a damn good peanut butter pie recipe from Gautier, Mississippi and it don't include no turtle, nor gator.
Well, all righty then! I'll just jump in and say that I adore Krispy Kremes. They never took in my area and by my area I mean the state of New York, it would seem but I adored them nonetheless. (I just love using words like nonetheless and notwithstanding)
Anyway, gravy is good. Completely lumpless which, in my opinion, is an art. I go with all sugggestions save the granola one. I has me standards.
As a butcher's daughter I've had a wide variety of meats. There was a great Native American restaurant in NYC in the '80s where I ate snake and bison. Marvelous stuff. I have to say I'm not a fan of venison. Even marinated it's still a bit gamey.
Not sure where free beer came in but I'd never insult a host by refusing any, lol.
You've made some marvelous points about anger, or should I say, emotion management. It's interesting that I can write with the TV on and not be distracted by music makes me stop and listen. So Starbucks, my writing office away from home, plays music full blast. Must it be so loud and coffeehouse-ish?
Sin great use of fruit to bring your point and emotional impact home.
Janga, great reflection on writing using the memory of emotion. I got that right, didn't I?
Eloisa James gave a brilliant speech at National about writing with passion and using the emotional impact of your life in your writing. If anyone has access to the audio for that speech, do try to get your hands on it. That speech was well worth the cost of the conference to hear it. There was not a dry eye in the house.
Oh, and how could I forget the chat about epilogues earlier in the postings. I LOVE epilogues that take place a few years down the road and show how everyone is faring. It suits me when the hero and heroine are no longer the guarding their hearts and are open and loving life.
I hope you carry on. I'm off to dinner and will check in again in a couple of hours.
Jane-o has a new banana cookie recipe she won't share... Let's go smack her around...
Umla, Melissa. It goes above the U in - oh, hell, how did I do that? über to signify how magnif it was. It's German, I think.
No squirrel meat, thank you. Bonnie caught one last week and we're still in mourning.
So, back from the doctor and the lump on my head is like one of those fatty lumps old dogs get. I'm off to shoot myself now...;(
Santa, Eloisa's speech hit home hard with me, as I'm sure it did with a lot of people. Definitely worth the cost.
Chance - A few years ago my doctor found this lump on my head (which incidentally has been there for years) and ordered an MRI immediately. So I can officially say I've had my head examined and I'm perfectly normal, if a little lumpy. No biggie. *shrugs*
Don't worry about that lump, it makes you unique.
Let's hope I don't turn into my old dog and get lumpy all over...
I wish I'd been there to hear Eloisa speak! I really can't countenance spending that kind of money until I actually have a finished MS.
Kate, I feel the same way. I feel like I don't deserve to go to a writing conference until I got a MS finished but I went to Spring Fling last year and it was the best experience. Eloisa spoke at the luncheon and it was well worth everything it took to get there.
Ah, yes, lumps and doctors...don't get me started on that one. I found a lump in my breast shortly after my second child was born. I hyed off to my doctor who ordered a mamogram and an ultrasound. The ultrasound in the office found the lump and so a biopsy was ordered. Go to the hospital where a second ultrasound was done prior to the procedure. No lump. Not a shadow. Nada anywhere. Back to my medical practice's ultrasound folks. There it was again. Back up to the hospital. No lump. Sigh. Make that a growl. No one would listen to me. Different equipment, different technicians makes a difference, people. They all looked at me as if I had horns. Yes, I'm one of those patients who does not lay still on a gurney while folks talk around me. Nope. No way. Not going to happen.
Long story short (see how this topic gets me riled up?) it was determined that this lump was fibroid in nature and not an issue. Speak up. Speak your mind. Advocate for yourself. No one knows you better than, well, you do.
Folding up my soapbox now. Great surge of energy for me there. I'm off to write for a bit. I'll pop back later for any night owls about.
Thanks for carrying on so well without me. Great resources on ship here.
Ah, Santa, I think this is just a fatty lump. It's where it is that is strange. At the back of my head, left side...it's fairly large, but isn't hurting, isn't an infection... It's just there and it's growing. But I won't be talked into something without thought, don't worry.
Good fer ya that ya stood up fer yerself, Santa.
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