Embarrassing

In one week from today, I will have landed in New Hampshire—hopefully without incident! This means that until then, I’m going to be running around like—well, like when I’m hopped up on caffeine and sugar doughnuts. Actually, I wish I could sustain that sort of crazed energy, but I’m sure most of my time will consist of wandering from box to box in a daze—starting today. Fortunately, my good friend Anne Gallagher, over at Piedmont Writer, is picking up the slack for me, blog-wise.  Yeah, it’s an interview of sorts, but it contains a story that I once posted here and then took down because it was really embarrassing and I was afraid of who might read it. I’m over the embarrassment now and it’s kind of a funny story. Go have a peek if you are inclined!

And be warned, Anne has also written a lovely review for Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright that you'll have to wade through to get to my amusing anecdote.

An Uncharted Break

In the middle of all this pre-release date stuff for Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright, I thought it would be nice to take a little break and talk about the story I’m working on—the one I mentioned a while back. The coming of age story set primarily in 1969. It started out as SPILLED COFFEE, changed to WHISPERING NARROWS, but now I think I’m back at  SPILLED COFFEE.  WHISPERING NARROWS  seems too romancey and sounds too much like a mystery (yes there is some romance and a bit of mystery, but it’s more literary fiction with a commercial bent, like Uncharted).

The first draft is complete at 80k words and now it’s revision time. My trusted beta readers have provided helpful feedback and now I need to address the problems with the story. It’s always a challenge to know what to alter and what suggestions to veto, but when certain issues gain a consensus, there’s probably something to it. So, for the past few months, it has been sitting in the corner like a problem child—a source of vexation. I think the biggest fault with this novel is that I simply didn’t know the main character, Benjamin Hughes, well enough. I knew him quite well as an adolescent—his early teen summer of 1969 is the primary part of the story. But I hadn’t developed enough of his adult life to flesh him out as a thirty-five-ish year old character my reader can relate to in the early 1990s, when the story opens and to where it returns at the beginning of each chapter. (The switching back and forth is a trick in itself!)

So, I’ve been taking long walks lately, bringing Benjamin along. I asked him, “So what exactly did happen to you and your sister between 1970 and 1992?”

And guess what! He’s been very cooperative! In fact, he introduced me to a new character, Christopher, and cleared up some details on other players in the story. The challenge will be writing Christopher in a realistic and sympathetic way. He’s a complicated character whose idiosyncrasies will require a ton of research. I will need to handle him delicately.

Since this story is written in a male, first person POV (as is Uncharted) and deals a lot with family dysfunction (like Uncharted) it seems that it would be a good follow-up novel to publish after Uncharted, as opposed to my GIRL RUNNING novels, which have a very different feel.

A while back, I even came up with a cover idea—it may be a bit busy and I might have to scratch it, but it at least provides a pretty picture for this post! I'm also hoping that the title brings to mind the old saying,  “No use crying over .... ”  

Yeah, Shameless Self-Promotion

Well, I guess things are beginning to happen with Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright, even though its official release is still four weeks away. Although the e-Book versions won't be available until October 1st, the beautiful softcover edition is now up on several online retail sites, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. (Even better, order it from your local small independent book store!) Uncharted retails for $14.99, but if you'd like a nice discount, head over to Rhemalda Publishing and order it there!

Uncharted is also up on Goodreads and Shelfari—ready for reviews. I have very ambivalent feelings about reviews. I guess most authors do. I've promised myself not to check and see when they come in, and especially not to read them! If they're good—and of course they'll be good, right?—they'll just make me all big-headed, and if they're not good...well, it doesn't take much imagination to know how I'll feel about that.

That said, I have received one review already! It's from the author who has written the blurb for my cover. It is the one review I have printed and will reread whenever I'm tempted to to peek at incoming online reviews! Many of you know how awkward I feel about shameless self-promotion—that necessary discomfort of publishing—but I can't resist sharing this:

“Uncharted tells a story within a story. Readers will be forced to skate along the edge of suspended belief, eagerly turning the pages, hoping it all turns out to be true. A great read that will appeal to armchair sailors, romantics, and real adventurers.”

~Carol Newman Cronin, author of Cape Cod Surprise

Carol continues:

"There aren’t too many books that combine shipwrights, shipwrecks, sailing, Maine, the tropics, Kansas, and peculiarly strong women into a page-turning love story. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever before read anything like Uncharted, J.B. (“call me Bridget”) Chicoine’s debut novel, which will be brought out by Rhemalda Publishing on October 1. Rhemalda’s tag line is “crossing the divide between imagination and reality,” and Uncharted certainly accomplishes that—without ever requiring the truly conscious suspension of belief that would distract from the story.

"I was lucky enough to read an advance copy, and as usual I started off with a slight tinge of dread. What if I had to slog my way through it, and then try to find something positive to say? In the end I was met with a completely different challenge: how to keep my writer’s jealousy at bay while I write the glowing review the book deserves."

To read the rest of Carol Newman Cronin's review (you really must! It's pretty great), head on over to her blog, Where Books Meet Boats.

Oh yeah, and one more thing—I don't really understand what Amazon algorithms are or how they work, but apparently if you tag my book or even at least 'like' it, that boosts Uncharted up alongside popular books and gives it more visibility. So, if you feel like doing it, that'd be great! Here's the Amazon link.

Uncharted Review Copies

Well, it’s getting closer and closer to Uncharted: Story for a Shipwright’s release date—October 1^st. I don’t want to wait until the last minute in case some of you reading this might like to receive an advance copy and write a review (yeah, part of a blog tour). If you’re interested, just click on the link below and fill out the form. Rhemalda Publishing will send you everything you need!

For those of you who don’t know what Uncharted is about, here’s the cover copy:

When a peculiar young woman shows up at the Wesley House Bed and Breakfast with a battered suitcase and stories to tell, shipwright Sam Wesley isn’t sure if she’s incredibly imaginative or just plain delusional. He soon realizes that Marlena is like no other woman he has ever met. Her strange behavior and far-fetched tales of shipwrecks and survival are a fresh breeze in Sam’s stagnant life.

Sam isn’t the only one enchanted by Marlena. With his best friend putting the moves on her and a man from her past coming back into her life, the competition for Marlena’s heart is fierce. In the midst of it all, a misunderstanding sends Marlena running, and by the time Sam learns what his heart really wants, it may be too late to win her back.

Review eBook Copies Available Upon Request

If you would like to host an eBook giveaway in connection with your book review, Rhemalda Publishing would be happy to provide eBook copies in .pdf, .epub, or .mobi to your giveaway winners.

Research, Olympic Style

One of the cool things about writing a novel is doing the research. I like researching. I've learned a lot and have met some interesting people. In fact, sometimes research can end up being life altering! Like, what if after researching Uncharted, Story for a Shipwright, I learned how to build a boat and then changed my vocation to shipwright! 

Well, that didn’t happen, but in the course of my gadding about the internet, I became acquainted with an author whose research led her to the Olympics, and I don’t mean as a spectator. I met Carol Newman Cronin over two years ago when I submitted a few lines of Uncharted—then known as Story for a Shipwright—on MissSnark’s First Victim. Carol left a kind and helpful comment so I followed her over to one of her Websites (she has several) which featured a nautical theme (what’s not to love!) and from there, I found her middle grade novels, Oliver's Surprise and Cape Cod Surprise.

Maaike Bernstrom Photography

From time to time, I would lurk, checking in to she what she was up to. Last year, I found that Carol had completed an adult novel, Game of Sails, anOlympic Love Story. The logline intrigued me: The story is about two opposites who team up for the sole purpose of making it to the Olympics—and then try hard not to fall in love. I then read an excerpt and knew I had to finish the story.

I snooped around her Website a little more and found out that as part of her research for Game of Sails, Carol helped on the race committee for the 1996 Olympic Trials. That's impressive enough—I mean, talk about getting into your research!—but soon thereafter, she won the next Trials she attended. 

Then, in 2000 she decided to put together her own Olympic campaign. Of course, she would have to put her writing on hold for four years, but after she returned from the 2004 Games in Athens, she had collected all the research she needed and finally completed Game of Sails! Imagine that! “Research” that would land you in the Olympics!

I read Game of Sails and loved it, not only the story, but her apt writing. I don’t normally post reviews on Amazon (or here, for that matter—a blog post for another time), but I enjoyed it so much, I just had to. My review is here. You don't need to know the difference between a tack and a jibe to feel the tension she creates in a sailboat, to experience the elation of victory and shed tears of defeat.

So, how’s that for the practical application of research!

—In addition to writing novels and sailing, Carol also writes articles for assorted boating magazines.

UNCHARTED logline

As I get closer to Uncharted’s release date (October 1), I’ve been thinking more about my logline—what I’ll say when someone asks “What’s it about?” I had one that I tried out on a few people—“It’s about a reserved New England shipwright and a spear-fishing young woman who is either delusional or may hold the key to his family’s mysterious past”— but it seemed convoluted when it came out and was met by a fair amount of squinting.

So, I’ve been reading in Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat about the importance of summing up “What is it?” in one sentence. I’m not sure if my new logline contains much irony (as he recommends), but this is what I’ve come up with:

“A peculiar young woman, whose stories of shipwreck and survival, capsizes the ordinary life of a reserved New England shipwright.”

Yeah, it’s still a mouthful, but it rolls off my tongue a little easier. And if I my audience doesn’t squint at that, I can add, “Even though she’s likely delusional, he might fall in love with her, but he’ll have to compete with his womanizing best friend.”

Oh, and just so you know what I’m working with, here’s the official cover copy:

When a peculiar young woman shows up at the Wesley House Bed and Breakfast with a battered suitcase and stories to tell, shipwright Sam Wesley isn’t sure if she’s incredibly imaginative or just plain delusional. He soon realizes that Marlena is like no other woman he has ever met. Her strange behavior and far-fetched tales of shipwrecks and survival are a fresh breeze in Sam’s stagnant life.

Sam isn’t the only one enchanted by Marlena. With his best friend putting the moves on her and a man from her past coming back into her life, the competition for Marlena’s heart is fierce. In the midst of it all, a misunderstanding sends Marlena running, and by the time Sam learns what his heart really wants, it may be too late to win her back.

This cover copy puts more emphasis on the romantic aspect of the story, which I originally toned down to make it more appealing to both genders. But the fact is, although quite a few men have enjoyed it (there’s enough adventure and manly stuff mixed in to draw male readers), the Women’s fiction audience is my target. And yeah, it’s a love story on many levels.

So, what do you think? Does the logline grab you? Any suggestions?

I Had a Crush on Gilligan

Yes, it’s true, back when I was seven or eight, when most girls swooned over one of The Monkees, I had a thing for Gilligan. It always bothered me that all their foiled attempts to get off the island were somehow Gilligan’s fault. I was naïve enough to believe that one day, they would be rescued and I always felt a tinge of disappointment at the end of every episode of Gilligan’s Island.

Thus began my fascination with stories of uncharted islands and survival. As a kid, I loved Swiss Family Robinson and any other story that centered around that theme. It wasn’t until Castaway (with Tom Hanks) hit the big screen that the seeds of Uncharted Story for a Shipwright germinated. If I could actually manage to wash ashore on an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere and still be alive, would I be able to survive with nothing but natural resources? What inner resources could I draw on?

Realistically, I didn’t think I would do too well—I mean, with enough determination and time, I could probably start a fire and cook some crabs. I might even be able to remember some of the principles involved with water condensation and collection, but I didn’t think I’d last very long. Now, after having researched shipwrecks and survival, I might be slightly more competent, but not much….Unless…unless someone had been on the island before me! What if someone had left behind some useful things—and not only things, but a few instructions! Now I’m cookin’! Imagining myself under such aided circumstances seemed like cheating in my little fantasy, but…what if…what if I turned out to be pregnant! Holy granola! That would add a huge complication. Now my imagination had shot past a sprout and began to bloom.

So, now you know the soil upon which the seeds of  UNCHARTED sprouted. 

The Moaning Chair

I have to admit, I’ve had a fair bit of trepidation while awaiting the final edits on  UNCHARTED. I even anticipated yanking out the Moaning Chair. ‘Don’t know what that is,’ you say? Sure you do. Especially if you’ve ever been engaged in a high-liability profession. In a way, writing is high liability. Oh yeah, there’s a lot at stake when it comes to ego and insecurities. I’d come this far, so I knew my publisher liked the story well enough to back it—just the same…how much hacking and slashing would there be? (You'd think I would know how to use a comma by now.) I knew I’d have to make sacrifices. (Could I have made my sentences any longer?) I knew they would sting. I knew I’d cringe, feeling around behind me for the Chair that I could flop into.

So, here’s my Moaning Chair.

The first coiner of the term, to the best of my knowledge and research, was Howard I. Chapelle, in his book Boatbuilding (1941). While I have come across many colorful variations describing the Moaning Chair, Chapelle states, “In every amateur boatbuilder’s shop there should be a ‘moaning chair’; this should be a comfortable seat from which the boat can be easily seen and in which the builder can sit, smoke, chew, drink, or swear as the moment demands.”

Happily, the edits have been relatively painless—no swearing or even moaning necessary. After years of revising UNCHARTED, it felt much the same as any other round of edits. Overall, it adds a nice luster to the polish. Rhemalda’s editor, Diane Dalton has been professional and fun to work with. Even now, before my final round of edits, I can confidently say it’s been and will continue to be a very positive experience. Does that mean I don’t need my Moaning Chair?

Well, the Chair is not just for griping— it’s for contemplation, as well. Chapelle adds, “Here he should rest often and think about his next job. The plans should be at hand and here he can lay out his work. By so doing he will often be able to see mistakes before they are serious and avoid the curse of all amateur boatbuilders: starting a job before figuring out what has to be done to get it right.”

Time to work on my other novels!

Travel & Planning a Book Launch

Yes, it’s been a little quiet around here for a while, but that doesn’t mean nothing’s been going on! Okay, it’s true—most of my activities take place mentally, but this time it’s been a fair mix of planning and follow-through!

We just returned from our twice-yearly trip to New Hampshire with a detour through Charlottesville, Virginia (what an awesome place—just sayin’) to pick up my sister for our pilgrimage to visit family in New England. In all, I visited with five of my six siblings, but that has nothing to do with my writing...

...speaking of which...since Uncharted, Story for a Shipwright will be released on October 1, and would likely coincide with our autumn trip to NH, and since the story primarily takes place in Maine, I thought New England would be a fitting backdrop for my book launch. I considered someplace coastal, but I wanted something more local to where I spent the larger part of my adult life—the Sunapee Lakes Region. I also wanted something intimate (as in, not some huge chain bookstore) with local appeal and interest in promoting ‘local’ writers and artists. With some recommendations and research, I narrowed down my choices to the MainStreet BookEnds independent bookstore in Warner, New Hampshire. Serendipitously, Warner NH has a well attended Fall Foliage Festival during the first weekend in October (6^th and 7^th), and the bookstore is a hub of activity! Perfect!

So, I had some business-type cards printed up, announcing  Uncharted ’s release, rehearsed my ten-second what’s-it-about pitch (“It’s about a reserved New England shipwright and a spear-fishing girl who is either delusional or the missing key to his family’s mysterious past.”) which I didn’t end up using, though I know it will come in handy for the book signing.

Todd accompanied me, nudging me forward as I smoothed my skirt and entered the Colonial house bookstore. After stumbling my way through an introduction, I found the owners of MainStreet BookEnds so very amiable and enthusiastic that I’m actually looking forward to the event (easy to say with it still three months down the road). In fact, the bookstore exceeded my expectations! Meanwhile, I have lots of preparations to keep me busy, in addition to final edits. As long as I keep moving forward and don’t look down, I should be okay.

Updated Website

As some of you know, I have a Website showcasing my watercolor painting--I own my domain JBChicoine.com, which is a very handy thing when you're having a novel published. Back in 2006 when I initially set up the Website, I had no intention of branching off into writing seriously, nor did I really have any idea how to construct a Website, but I had a program (MS FrontPage) that made the prospect seem manageable. So, I published a Webiste focusing on my art, but with my novel Uncharted coming out in October, I needed to reconstruct my home page, dividing it between my two endeavors. Problem was, I updated it so infrequently that I had to virtually relearn the program every time I wanted to add a new work of art. I was dreading having to create a whole new homepage without messing up the entire site.


Last week, I put the final touches on it, even redesigning the header (which meant painting something that fit both themes). I'll admit there are some glitches that annoy me and I can't figure out how to get them quite right, but I won't point out the specific flaws. I will instead announce that I have a 'new' Website, J.B. Chicoine, Author & Artist. 

As more of my novels are published, I will add them to the Website, but this blog is where I'll provide updates on things pertaining to my writing. 

Cover Preview for Uncharted!

I just received the mock up of my cover for Uncharted! I'm so pleased that Rhemalda used my painting of Marlena, the peculiar young waif who disrupts the life of shipwright Sam Wesley (funny how girls can be so disruptive). Over at Rhemalda's blog, they've written up a nice article on the cover and provides a synopsis of the novel (like you'd see on the back of a book).

Rhemalda's cover designer, Melissa Williams was wonderful to work with. 

Just five months until Uncharted is released, on October 1^st —this makes it finally feel real…

Writing & Not Writing

I've been deep into researching and writing on my WIP, Whispering Narrows  (aka Spilled Coffee), which partly accounts for my blogging silence as of late. I've also been giving a lot of thought to how I write--my process, that is. For the first time, I've done some serious outlining although I haven't completely stuck to it (I kind of knew I wouldn't, but it did provide me with the direction needed to get the story moving.)

If you'd care to read about the process I used to write Uncharted, my first ever article, Pantsing My Way to Outlining, is in my publisher's spring edition of their OPUS! magazine--it's got my timeline and everything, along with lots of other fine articles by their staff and authors.


This is also the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time to write something for the Insecure Writer's  Support Group. For three reasons, I've decided to graciously back out of the group: 1) I post so infrequently, that my biggest insecurity has become worrying if my blog looks like it's all about being an insecure writer, which it's not. 2) I simply don't have the time to make the rounds, as much as I'd like to. 3) Besides that, I've always been better at working through my insecurities in private.

Hudson River Day Line

I received another letter from my dad today. He's been going through old papers (the way good parents should so that 'later on' their kids won't have to). This one is from the Hudson River Day Line, West 42nd Street Pier, New York, N.Y.

A little research in the New York State Library, and I found out that "of the many Hudson River steamboat lines, the one which became the best known in this country and abroad was the Hudson River Day Line. Its 'white flyers' were famous for their elegance and speed, and provided the most enjoyable way to travel the Hudson River. No one could claim to have seen America without seeing the Hudson River, and the only way to properly see the Hudson River was from the deck of a Day Liner. Important foreign guests were taken for steamboat rides soon after their arrival in New York."

Apparently, September 13, 1948 saw the last Day Line steamboat on its run from Albany to New York City, so that dates the envelop.

On the back is an emblem for the Baltimore & Ohio R.R. All Trains Via Washington with Stop-Over Privileges.

There is something ever so romantic about the way people got around back then. Not so primitive as horse and buggy, but slow enough to actually enjoy the ride.

Remembering the 1960's...Sort Of...

I’ve been working on an historical fiction—no, not like back in the 1800’s, more like the 1960’s. I’m not sure why I find that era fascinating, except that I lived through the entire decade, though I don't remember much of it...that is, I was only mildly acquainted with its major events. I was born in 1960, and so I was only nine years old in 1969 and was for the most part oblivious to the Civil Rights movement, the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam War protests, assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King, Woodstock and the sexual revolution. All vague memories, except for the fist walk on the moon in July, 1969. 

Perhaps my fascination is in retrospect, now understanding that so many momentous things happened in the 60’s and I  essentially missed out on them because I was a self-absorbed little kid, drawing and writing in my own little cosmos. I had older cousins who looked like hippies and they were so cool, but I didn’t really know what it meant to be one. I had never heard of drugs until the Beatles entered their psychedelic phase and became a topic at the dinner table. I had asked, “What are drugs?” the answer offered was so vague as to not make a lasting impression. I still had no idea what ‘mind-altering’ meant.

It seems that every up-and-coming generation looks back on their childhood years with nostalgia. As that generation comes of age and exerts their influence on the media, television and movies reflect that nostalgia. Back in the 70’s, Happy Days glorified the 50’s. In the late 80’s we had The Wonder Years, the late 90’s brought us That 70’s Show, and the 00’s bring us, well, I’m not really sure since I don’t watch much television, but I’m sure there’s some offering that puts a nostalgic slant on the 80’s.

What I do know about the 60’s was the innocence of perception through the eyes of a pre-teen who does not yet have the context of years to understand just what all that upheaval meant. We didn’t lock our doors. We rode our bicycle up and down the road without fear of strangers. I’m sure adults were aware of pedophiles, but I sure wasn’t. I didn’t even know what sex was until the 70’s. Innocence and ignorance. In many ways it was bliss.

It is against that backdrop that I am allowing my nearly twelve-year-old character, Benjamin Hughes, to experience the summer of 1969, through innocent eyes. It’s going to break my heart when his entire life crumbles around him in the ‘real’ world.

I Just Couldn't

Couldn’t what, you ask? Well, you’ll have to go over and read a post I wrote for Rhemalda Publishing’s blog. I expound on the reason why I chose the post-Emancipation year, 1867, to set a portion of my novel, Uncharted. It has to do with slavery, and why I couldn’t  make Captain William Wesley a slave trader.

I Just Don't Feel Like It

Today is the first Wednesday of the month and I'm supposed to post something for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, but I gotta say, I got nothin'! Not that I'm not as insecure as ever--I just don't feel like expounding on it this month. Sure I could write about Is It Writer's Block Or Winter Blahs? or perhaps Will My Second Novel (Which Is Actually My First) Be A Big Disappointment? Or maybe, Why I Should Stick to Painting Instead of Writing. I could even write about Why I Can't Seem to Get into Blogging These Days, but I just don't feel like it.

Letter from Home

My Dad sent me a news clipping in an antique envelope--How cool is that!
And who knew that the Hotel Times Square was ABSOLUTELY Fireproof!
...and, did you know that "Letters mailed in hotel envelopes if not delivered, will be sent to the dead letter office unless the writer gives a return address."? 
Dead Letters?
Might we have an Inciting Incident?

W.I.P. from My W.S.K.

It’s gray and cold outside. Our yard is a patchwork of dried grass and opaque ice that won’t even reflect blue skies on that rare day when the sun shines. Yes, it’s the dead of winter, and having no snow makes the season feel like a pointless stream of dreary. No, I’m not depressed, thanks to my W.S.K., but I will admit I’ve been teetering. I don’t go outside much these days, not even in the virtual world of the blog-o-sphere (I have no idea what's going on with anyone--yeah, a little self-absorbed and myopic)—I guess it’s my way of hibernating. 

One tool in my W.S.K. is my set of watercolors. I’ve been painting. I’ve done some revisions on Girl Running (the next novel I hope to publish), but I’m a little sick of writing for now. That’s where the painting comes in. It seems to boost my serotonin levels enough to keep me getting out of bed in the morning. My latest project is a nautical scene (I thought it would be cool to paint something that might be seen in Wesleyville, Maine—the fictitious setting of UNCHARTED). So, I guess you could say it’s writing related. Besides that, I’m painting from an image provided by Liza Carens Salerno, who is a phenomenal writer and copywriter—not to mention beta-reader extraordinaire—so that makes it even more writing related in a way…

I’m down to the nitty-gritty eye-crossing part of the painting (yeah, that's right, the grass), so it may take a little while to complete it…but that’s just me…slow and steady…

So, here's a W.I.P. from my W.S.K.:

Layers: Writing and Painting

I write with a painter’s eye, and paint from a writer’s perspective, and so one activity is never entirely separate from the other. The more I write, the more parallels I find in both pursuits—the only difference is, when I paint, I have a photograph to work from very clear vision of what I will produce, whereas I’m never certain just how a story will develop. If you're curious about how "layering" is intrinsic to both endeavors, go check out my latest post on the Rhemalda blog!

Comparisons: "Get off me!"

I know this post is supposed to be on writing insecurities but this week I could just as easily write about painting insecurities—the principles are the same. These past few days, I've spent a lot of time studying the portrait of Marlena I just completed, and I really love her. I captured the innocence and beauty of her character, and so by that standard, the project was a success. I feel good about it—really good...until...I look at Pascal Gentil's painting*...now my painting lacks luster and well, I begin to realize what an amateur I am...Please don't misunderstand; I'm not slamming my own work, and I'm not begging for reassurance. I'm simply being realistic. (Yes, I promise to get that short-term Empowerment Therapy!)

...This is where the writing analogy comes in...

I feel really good about my novels, until I start comparing them. It might be my story line or characters or the actual writing—doesn't matter. As soon as I put someone else's writing beside mine, the first thing I notice are the flaws in my own work. If I can, I go back to the drawing table/keyboard and make improvements. That's fine! But more than likely, I'll only be indulging my propensity for overworking a project—it's the paper, scrubbed and so saturated with paint and water that it begins to peel. It's the never-ending edits and revisions, tweaking characters to the point that they scream, "Get off me!"

At some point I have to say, this is mine, it's complete and I own it and I love it for what it is, in spite of the flaws. This is such a basic concept—the earlier in life we learn it, the better. Comparing ourselves—our life, our work, our progress or lack of it, our dreams and expectations—to anyone else is counterproductive. It's easy to justify comparison as that which spurs us to greater achievements, and sometimes it does, but such a shaky foundation leaves us too vulnerable. We will constantly need external reassurance and will always be standing on the edge of that slippery slope of mental/emotional malaise.

Just say NO to comparisons! "Get off me!"

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, sponsored by Alex J. Cavanaugh.


* Edited to say that I just found Pascal Gentil's Website only to discover his "painting" is in fact a digitally enhanced photograph, which takes a great deal of talent and in no way diminishes my esteem of his work. Oh my, how I'd love to paint many of his subjects! And in a way, it makes me feel all the better about my work.

Another Version of Marlena

by Pascal Gentil

And here's the painting* by Pascal Gentil, that inspired my Marlena (the painting, not the character--she's all mine!) See how sneaky I am, not placing them side-by-side in the same post!


I believe this is an oil on some sort of plaster or rough canvas*. Gentil's other work is pretty amazing, but there's not a lot about him online, just an obscure Website. Beautiful and sensual work!*


This Marlena has a little more chin than I wanted, and although her hair looks a bit matted, that actually fits into the story. Todd voted for prettier hair, so I conceded on that!


*if naked bodies offend you, don't click on the link!


* Edited to say that I just found Pascal Gentil's Photography Website only to discover his "painting" is in fact a digitally enhanced photograph, which takes a great deal of talent and in no way diminishes my esteem of his work. Oh my, how I'd love to paint many of his subjects! And in a way, it makes me feel all the better about my work.

Marlena

I’ve been staring at a lot of UNCHARTED lately, which I’m pre-editing before Rhemalda’s editor gets a hold of it (I can’t believe how may times I wrote ‘he knew’ or ‘he thought’ or ‘he watched’—Egad, you’d think I never read a writing blog in my life!)


Not only have I been focusing endlessly on my MS Word doc, but to keep me motivated, I have an amazing painting* of what UNCHARTED's Marlena looks like, by Pascal Gentil. His version is perfect, really, but the more I stared, the more I wished I had a painting of my own—and I haven’t painted in a long time, so I decided to give it a go and produce my own rendition of Gentil’s painting*. I’m posting the process over on my art blog—Unsupervised & atLarge. I actually finished it, so I’m posting my completed watercolor here. Next week I’ll post Gentil’s painting*. I like this one very much, but when I compare it to his, I still kinda like his better. Maybe mine will grow on me…


* Edited to say that I just found Pascal Gentil's Website only to discover his "painting" is in fact a digitally enhanced photograph, which takes a great deal of talent and in no way diminishes my esteem of his work. Oh my, how I'd love to paint many of his subjects! And in a way, it makes me feel all the better about my work.

Breaking Rules: The Insecure Way

One of my biggest writing insecurities is breaking rules. When I started my novels, I went at it all willy-nilly, unaware of rules aside from basic grammar. When I got more serious about the craft, one of the first rules I learned was Show, Don’t Tell. What an awesome new concept! And wow, what it did for my writing!

Eventually I learned that once I knew the rules—why they were there and how they worked—I was allowed to break the rules, with discretion. Okay, I have to admit that scared me a bit. (No need to go into a deep psychological profile here, but even though I don’t particularly like rules, I do find comfort in their safety. If I don’t break rules, bad things won’t smack me upside the head, right?) So, the question is, How do I to know when it’s okay to break a rule?

I don’t know.

But it began to occur to me that there had to be a better way to SHOW fear, or embarrassment, or lust, or anger or that whole gamut of human emotions. I mean, how many different ways can the heart beat fast and hard and the body temperature rise? Is it just a matter of seeing how many clever and convoluted ways I can show an emotion through physicality? And that doesn’t even cover all the extra verbiage needed with showing. Sometimes it’s good to slow down the narrative, but sometimes all that extra speeding pulse, slamming objects and watering eyes bogs down the pace and makes even my eyes roll.

Recently, I came across a new term: Interiority. I don’t know who came up with it, but it's in the dictionary (of or pertaining to that which is within) and I found it on kidlit.com and it gave me a whole new slant on the Show vs Tell rule. I haven’t figured it all out yet, but the concept makes good sense to me. I’m feeling a little less insecure.


This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Group, sponsored by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

A Non-Post Post

This post is about not succumbing to the pressure to post just for the sake of posting something. If I post three times in a month, I’m doing well. I feel comfortable with that. The biggest obstacle to posting more often is that I never know what to talk about, so I ramble on about the first thing that comes into my head. This also happens in other social situations—and yes, blogging is every bit as social.

Yeah, as I’m approaching someone who I see standing alone in a group, I’m thinking of all the nifty conversation openers I’ve learned through the years—Get them talking about themselves being at the top of the list—but is that what I do? Noooo. I start blathering on about some ridiculous nonsense (usually self-deprecating humor delivered in about three hundred words without a breath between sentences) just to distract both of us from the awkwardness of talking to someone we are only marginally acquainted with, if at all. Not that it isn’t a perfectly legitimate way to socialize—Okay, aside from the wide-eyed, ‘what the heck is wrong with this chick? gawks—it works well in a forget-about-my-dignity, maybe-I’ll-never-see-them-again-anyhow sort of way, and it keeps me from having to come up with something substantial. And if my husband is in the mix, we’ve been known to devolve into a sideshow. The interaction—and I use that term loosely—may last less than five minutes—probably less than the time it took you to read this post. But it exhausts me for the rest of the day…

So, that’s really why I don’t post more often—aside from not knowing what to write about. Any suggestions? Anyone want to tell me a little about themselves so I can practice being a good listener? 

Who Are You?

Imagine you have washed ashore with a handful of strangers on a tiny uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere—stripped of everything. How would you be identified? Visit Rhemalda’s blog to read my first post, and ask yourself, “Who am I—really?”

My Sparkly New Title!

I just wanted to give an update on what’s happening with my novel. I’ve had several conversations with Rhemalda, via phone, Instant Messaging, and—new to me—Skype. After the initial awkwardness of seeing and being seen, Skyping wasn’t as scary as I imagined—turned out that the folks at Rhemalda look like my own species (though my face kept doing stupid things in the corner)!

Then there was choosing an author photo, almost as dreaded as the author bio. I have that stuff on my About J.B. Chicoine page right above, but, I don’t know, it just feels different putting that on an Author Page with a publisher. Suddenly all my potential photos look too goofy or too come-hitherish. When I read the bio for my blog, it seems silly, but the one I’ve submitted for my ‘official’ page sounds flat an uncompelling—or maybe it’s just me!

The real fun was picking out my official title! After an intensive, late night IM-ing session between me, the publisher, my editor (love how that sounds) and cover designer, we came up with some strong possibilities. The next morning none of them felt right—then I had an epiphany! Okay, it was more like my husband saying, “What about that one on the original list—but just the first word?—you know, Uncharted. It fits so many aspects of the story and it’s nautical. It’s got punch” to which I said, “Yay Todd!”

So, there it is, officially, the name of my debut novel, to be published on October 1, 2012.

Uncharted
Story for a Shipwright

A Publishing Contract!

This announcement actually makes a pretty nice follow-up to my last post on Persistence. I just signed a contract with Rhemalda Publishing for Story for a Shipwright! For a while now, I’ve been on the verge of self-publishing because I love the idea of having complete control over my work. But for my first venture into publishing, I hoped for the support of a traditional publisher. Given my cross-genre issues, and my increasing squeamishness with the Big House Publishers, I decided on the Small Press route. Rhemalda has a reputation for working very closely with their authors, which is the primary reason I chose them. I’m really excited to have progressed this far—follow-through does eventually pay off!

Persistence

So, you’ve heard about writers sending out queries to dozens of agents and receiving dozens of rejections. Rejection is part of the getting published gig. And not just dozens of rejections—I don’t even want to say how many I received over the course of nearly four years. I sent my first STORY FOR A SHIPWRIGHT query in December of ’08 and received my last rejection in August this year. I won’t say how many—lets just round down to 200. And it wasn’t that my query wasn’t strong (okay, probably my first 25-50 were terrible!) or the story was awful. I received an encouraging amount of requests for partials and my full manuscript with a lot of very positive feedback—just no takers. The problem? The market; that and my story didn’t fall into a tidy genre. I was told “this kind of well-made novel is almost impossible to sell in this horrible market”...“especially in these recessionary times.  It's that old thing about deserving to be published, but not yet being published.”

Yeah, it’s been really discouraging. I can’t say that it didn’t undermine my feelings about my novel and my writing abilities—I wondered if all the disappointment and battered self-esteem was worth it. Yet, it seemed that with all the time I had invested, I should follow through on my plan—if I’ve lacked in skill and knowledge of how the industry works and what genres are ‘salable’, I do make up for it in persistence. A large part of me feels the need to follow through once I’ve made a commitment. I’ve always maintained that I will publish one way or the other, and I’ll be proud of that. If nothing else, I know that we writers are a rare breed that combines imagination with commitment and courage. That’s a pretty cool distinction!

My motto has become: Just keep moving forward—and whatever you do, don’t look down!

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Group, sponsored by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Foliage and Friends

I’m stopping in quickly to say I’m having a lovely time in New Hampshire. The foliage peaked a few days ago and this is the view from where I sit and write. Inspiring indeed! I've been getting lots of writing—revisions, that is—done...

…also, I want to direct attention to Anne Gallagher’s new Regency Writer blog (and not just because the header features one of my paintings—she produces some really high-quality stories! Go check it out!

Confidence and Crit Partners

One of my insecurities about writing (I have many) is that people know I’m insecure about my writing! There is a fine line between modesty—knowing your work has shortcomings—and wimpy lack of confidence. I have vacillated between the two, which is likely apparent to those who have read my blog for a while or read my comments on others' blogs.

Here’s the problem it presents: Since the blog-o-sphere has proved to be my pool of potential beta-readers and critique partners who likely sense my insecurity, I tend to wonder if they sugar-coat their responses to my writing. Intellectually, I know I have chosen them because they have integrity and will be honest—and when they offer suggestions on how to improve, I absolutely believe them. But when they say something nice, I always wonder if it’s just to make the criticism more palatable. Which is stupid, because I know some of my writing is pretty good and commendation is often an effective way to motivate further improvement. Even worse, if most of what they say is positive, I wonder if they think I can't handle the truth, and so hold back on pointing out the negative! (For the record: Yes, I can handle the truth!)

Fortunately, I have found a remedy to this! Time! It takes time to build up a trusting relationship with a crit partner or beta reader. True confidence in someone can only come through experience. It’s very difficult starting out with little or no writerly support—especially if you live somewhere remote and don’t have access to a live writing group (even then, it takes time to build trust). I feel very fortunate after several years of this blogging/writing gig, to have found some real gems! It has bolstered my confidence exponentially! You know who you are..THANKS!

This post is part of a series The Insecure Writers Support Group—yes, a blogfest—sponsored by Alex J. Cavanaugh, to lend support to fellow insecure writers (and that's most of us!).  A list of fellow Supporters can be found at the above link--go visit their blogs for more encouragement...

That Time of Year...

Well, it’s that time of year again! Very soon, we will be heading off to New Hampshire for our twice-yearly pilgrimage. We are trying out something new with internet out there, but it may be a wash and so you may not see me around for a little while…then again…*

So, here is a happy picture to place me in till I get back…

 *I actually signed up for a blog-fest of sorts. Yes, I know it’s highly irregular of me to participate in a group activity. Why, you ask, would I do that? The answer's in the name— The Insecure Writer’s Group…and it’s only the first Wednesday of every month, so I think I can handle it—even if it takes an hour to upload the post through dial-up internet (okay, I may be exaggerating a little...)!

Character Intrusion!

One of the ‘benefits’ of being a pantser—as opposed to an outliner who knows most of the story up front—is that I never know when a character will alter my novel. This happened in Portrait of a Girl Running. I needed a marginal character as a catalyst for added tension; just a supporting player, mind you. His name is Mr. Myles. An unexpected thing happened though. When I set him in a scene with my protagonist, they had this amazing chemistry I hadn’t counted on. They could not be in the same scene together without them carving out an emotional wake. In fact, Myles became not only a major character in the novel (and the sequel) but he also refined the overall theme.

It happened again in Portrait of a Protégé. On a whim, a character named Marvelle* enters the story—and bam! she takes over!

I’ve been evaluating what these two intruding characters have in common.

Each one:

• has a dynamic personality
• engages with the protagonist in a battle of wills
• ultimately has the protagonist’s best interest at heart
• is considerably older than the protagonist
• is based—at least partially—on a real person I have known.

I wonder how much this last factor contributes to their strength—that is, to my ability to truly bring them to life in such a profound way.

I’m curious—whether you’re a pantser or an outliner—Do you have characters that enter your story in an unexpected way? Do they refine, or even redefine your theme? Are any of your characters based on someone you have personally known?

*aka, my inner critic