Wednesday, November 4, 2015

A Boat Upon Which to Float My Story!

I’ve been under the weather this week, and so what better way to spend idle time than to learn about sailing in New Orleans and pick out a sailboat! I mentioned in my last post that there will be sailing in this novel, the third in the Portrait series (title still to be determined). I sail a little, that is, I have little sailing experience other than tooling around on a few lakes and, yes, that little bit on Chesapeake Bay (well, Todd did most of the work). Our Bock sailboat is pretty in her own way, but she’s fiberglass and was manufactured by a laundry manufacturer in Ohio—not particularly romantic.

I do however come from a short line of boat builders. My grandfather and uncle built a lovely little wooden boat, and my dad builds some beautiful models. I grew up on the Great South Bay and sailed occasionally with my dad in our little Seaford skiff. So, I guess I come by my interest in boats somewhat honestly, but having taken all that for granted growing up, I never paid attention to the particulars of boats or sailing. Yes, I was taught the difference between port and starboard, stern and bow, but other than that, not so much.

My sad lack of technical knowledge didn’t keep me from writing Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright, which I think I pulled off without any glaring errors, thanks to my nautical-savvy beta readers. If only I could have retained half of what I researched! So, now that I’m undertaking another sailing adventure, one with a whole lot more actual sailing, I find myself in deep water.

So, what’s a novelist to do? Happily, I have a writing buddy who sails expertly, but I can’t just throw a sloppy, unresearched mass at her! So, for my initial phases of fact-finding, I have two terrific resources—the WoodenBoat Forum, and Cruisers Forum, both have been extremely helpful. I posted a thread, “Need a Boat for a Work of Fiction,” and received wonderful, and often comprehensive, responses. Consequently, I have picked a boat upon which to float the nautical part of Portraits III! In real life, her name is Infanta and she is a 47’ Bermuda yawl located overseas with the added perk of being designed by Philip Rhodes, one of my favorites.

Some may recall that in Uncharted, old Buck built a replica of Rhode’s Pavana, a 46’ yawl.

Anyway, my yet-unnamed boat will be sailing out of New Orleans to the Cayman Islands, which means my research has only just begun—more on New Orleans later…

If you are curious about Infanta's interior and specs, here's her listing from before her new owners acquired her. And a special thanks to the owners for answering my "left-field" question about the fo'ward head! No detail is too small to research!
[Note to self: Never be afraid to click "Contact" on a website.]

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

A Title for My Work in Progress!

For the past couple of months, I have been working on the third book in my Portraits series. I was having trouble coming up with a title that worked with Portrait of… But I knew that if I just kept writing, the title would reveal itself. I was considering Portrait of a Girl Sailing since there will be some sailing, and it works metaphorically, but the story is not just about Leila sailing—it’s about a journey, literally and figuratively, therefore, I was thinking maybe Portrait of a Journey. But neither really clicked for me.

So, today, over 40k words into the first, rough draft, as I was writing a scene, a line came to me from the first book, Portrait of a Girl Running. It’s at the end of the first chapter, which means it will make for a nice bookend, so to speak. The line alludes to something Leila’s father used to call her—Leila-at-Large. It had to do with her always being on the move, about how she would need to fall between the cracks, undetected.

I then looked up “at large” in my Mac dictionary and found, serendipitously, that the term also has a sailing application having to do with the wind blowing from a favorable direction (okay, so I hadn’t ever heard of that, but I still have a lot of sailing research ahead of me—sure wish I could remember half of what I researched for Uncharted!)

So, I have at least a portion of the title: Portrait of --- At Large. The question is, do I go with Portrait of a Girl At Large, even though Leila is no longer a girlshe's now twenty-four. Or, I could go with Portrait of Leila-at-Large. Hmmm...I'm just not sure which works better. I'm open to opinions! Aside from finishing the first draft, and deciding on the title, I need to  figure out if the A in ‘at’ should be capitalized.  

Oh, and in case anyone is curious about some elements of the story, I have a pin board on Pinterest where I am gathering bits of information and images.

Friday, August 28, 2015

What the Heck Does It Mean to Be Whole?

We hear that expression a lot. I can’t count how many of those feel-good quotes I’ve seen on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere that have to do with ‘being who you are,’ ‘claiming your identity,’ and the blessed state of ‘being a whole person.’ These ideas usually revolve around one’s readiness to enter and maintain healthy relationships, or embracing the concept of going it alone.

I think the concept got a foothold in the sixties and seventies with self-help books like I’m Okay, You’re Okay*, and How to Be Your Own Best Friend**. There were others, of course, but those are two that I distinctly recall as a youngster—my mother even provided us with a copy of the latter during adolescence. I wish I had actually understood and applied what I'd read. Nevertheless, as a culture, we’ve been talking about ‘Being Whole’ for decades. 

The reason I’m now contemplating the issue is that when I boiled down the theme of the story I’m working on, the third in my Portraits series, this question—What does it mean to be whole?—keeps coming up.

For anyone who has read Portrait of a Girl Running and Portrait of a Protégé, you know I’ve put my protagonist, Leila, through the mill. Although she has had independence foisted upon her, she is living what appears to be a fulfilling life in a safe and nurturing environment with people who care about her, and with opportunities for personal and artistic growth. Of course, I can’t leave well enough alone. No, I don’t think I’m going to kill anyone off (at least not unless I have to, ha!), but let’s face it—Leila has a lot of unresolved issues about her upbringing, and especially about her mother. She’s been on an emotionally intense roller-coaster ride, but, just because her life seems to have finally leveled out, that does not mean she can side skirt those issues which have left her broken and with pieces missing. Yes, she’s having to confront the question: What the heck does it even mean to be whole?

I Googled the question, and aside from coming up with a lot of religious answers—valid as some may be, I’m not focusing on that route—there are so many opinions, a psychological and spiritual free-for-all! I have my own opinion, but I’m still shaping it. And I am very curious how other thoughtful people define it. Please feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail (bridget at jbchicoine dot com) if you’d like to share!

*by Thomas Anthony Harris  **by Bernard Berkowitz, Jean Owen, and Mildred Newman

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

What I Did On My Year-Long Vacation

Well, it’s been…let’s see…over eight months since I last posted! And yeah, I will admit that the break felt good—really good. Not only did I take a break from blogging and nearly all social networking, but I also took an even longer break from writing. I might have been suffering from a bit of burnout, but I think that mostly I wanted to revisit my life the way it was before I took up the crazy notion of publishing my work! Yeah, I actually had a life and it was still intact just waiting for me to slow down, to clear my mind, and to refocus. What do I have to show for it? Well, at least a few pictures… 

Beginning with last autumn...
...we visited New Hampshire...

...did you know they have drug-free cows?...

...we started roasting our own coffee beansyeah, that's a modified popcorn popper!...

...I mooshed my kitties a lot...

...I watched as Todd split a lot of wood...

...we made lots of pear wine (not as good as our last batches)...

...I painted a bit...

...I sewed a bunch of dolly outfits for my granddaughter's American Girl Doll...don't make me rant about how ridiculous those dolls are...

...I tried on goofy hats at the flea market...

...made and ate far too much bread, and didn't spare the brie!...

...visited my beautiful sister and her husband in Virginia...

...enjoyed an 'ice storm' while with friends in the beautiful Virginia countryside...

...came home and survived the rest of our winter in Michigan, and waited until May... 

 ...when we went to the Chesapeake Bay to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary...

...we watched sunsets...

...and sailed...

...ate raw oysters! Yum!!...

...saw scary sea creatures...

...and gooey ones...

...and ugly ones...

...and more sunsets...

...and hung out on the beach and did nothing at all...

...and sat around some more...

...and played with crab pots...

...and sailed some more...


...watched our last sunset...

 
...and then, a month or so later, we headed to New England and camped with my lovely daughter and her family in Maine...

...and saw more cool jellyfishes...

 ...and visited the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse...

...and took pictures that made me want to write...

 ...and made me want to paint...

...then we backtracked to New Hampshire and kayaked while visiting my brother and his amazing family...

...and ate clams on the halfshell...

...and later on, played on the river with grandbabies...

...and now we are home and I'm writing again. I've had an idea for a third book in my Portraits series, and it has turned into a plot. I'm in the very early stages and can't make any promises, and I won't set any deadlines, but I am making progress and enjoying it.

So, there you have it! I may even post again before the year is out!