Here We Go Again

Here we go again – off on our annual fall trip. This trip will make four of the past five years that we have taken a break and got out of Dodge in late October. It is not because of the weather, which has been unbelievable, just time to do what us old people do – travel a bit. And speaking of Dodge, this will be our second day stop, the old town in Dodge City for the third time. Many think it is over the top touristy, but it is still, fun, interesting, educational and helps with writing inspiration.

We will be spending time in Oklahoma, on Route 66 in Texas and then a week in Lousiana. We will also make a trip over to Vicksburg, Mississippi to tour, for the second time, the Civil War Battle Site. Then two or three days to take in some of the shows in Branson, Missouri, followed by a day with family in Nebraska and we will head back home to Wyoming.  Looks like we will be gone two weeks, maybe a few days more. Depending on how much fun we are having and how much money we have left.

I am not sure if I will post anything while we are on the trip, other than a few photos here or on Twitter, but I will get some writing done. We have a few days of rest scheduled where I will sit in the sun, or shade and write, edit, format and all the other things I am behind on.

No Place Like Home

 We schedule our trips well in advance and always have a few things we wish we could be home for. My son coaching his football team in the playoffs, and what looks to be a good Wyoming game Vs. Boise State, this weekend, but I will follow the updates and enjoy the trip south. Speaking of enjoying, I can hardly wait to get into southern Oklahoma or Northern Texas where many eating places feature fried pies. Not the best thing for my diet, but it only happens once each year.

Meanwhile enjoy the terrific fall weather, winter is not far away.

                               Pick your own caption here                               

 #1. Me, after too many fried pies                               #2. Winter is not far away

Keep on reading and for all of you that are writers, get in the chair and get busy writing.

5 Reasons I Don't Write Much In The Summer

Not sure I like doing much serious writing in the summer. I do keep up, barely, with my numerous blogs, https://plus.google.com/+NeilWaring/posts?hl=en, but little else. I am still editing and re-editing my book on the Civilian Conservation Corps and adding some information I stumbled on after the first draft. It might have been the second draft I can’t remember, its summer.

I do have a fiction book ready to go but have not settled on a cover yet. Other than that I am nearing completion on a long story, not sure it is long enough to be a novella. It is Young Adult and about 10,000 words. My nine year old grandson has helped me with this, reading each day whatever I have completed.

I realize that so many writing experts say to not let a reader have it until it is ready, but this seems to be fun for both of us.

So, how do I spend my summers? Gardening,

 

playing golf, hiking in our wonderful state park, and reading in the evening
 http://visitguernseystatepark.blogspot.com/

After much time and effort, about three minutes worth, I have identified why I am not a productive writer in the summer.

1.  I love basking in the sun, sitting on our deck.

More than 30 years of teaching kids to play. Part of this years bunch.

2.  Playing golf five days, or so, a week takes some time.

3.  Digging in the dirt is fun and rewarding – I have a passion for gardening.

4.  Grandkids, we love having them here, makes us feel young.

5.  All the great summer events, from speakers to concerts, fairs and great summer get-to-gathers.

6.  I’m retired, I don’t have to do anything if I don’t want to.

I know, I know, my list has six instead of five but remember, I’m retired, I don’t do much, and I only count what I want to.

I love summer, but don’t get much writing done.

Reading Like I Was A Kid Again

“Tom!”

No answer.

“Tom!”

No answer.

“What’s gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!”

No answer

You guessed it; I am rereading Mark Twain’s, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Authors often get into deep discussions about book openings, this one is rather unique. It really doesn’t tell us anything other than either Tom is not there or he is not about to answer. Simple, but it made me keep reading when I was a kid and it kept me reading now.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an 1876 story of a young boy growing up along the Mississippi. The story is set in the fictional St. Petersburg, inspired by Hannibal Missouri,  where Twain grew up.

Tom Sawyer lived with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother, Sid. Tom dirties his clothes in a fight and is made to whitewash the fence the next day, as a punishment. He cleverly persuades his friends to trade him small treasures for the privilege of doing his work. This is the most well know scene in the novel and often portrayed on the cover.

Tom also falls in love with Becky Thatcher, a new girl in town, and persuades her to get "engaged" by kissing him. But their romance falls apart when she learns Tom has been engaged before. Shortly after being shunned by Becky, Tom accompanies his good friend Huck Finn to the graveyard at night. There the two witness the murder of Dr. Robinson. And the adventures continue.

So how did Twain write this story? I think this quote tells us.

“I conceive that the right way to write a story for boys is to write so that it will not only interest boys but strongly interest any man who has ever been a boy. That immensely enlarges the audience.”
- Letter to Fred J. Hall, 10 Aug 1892

Twain also ended this work in a most unconventional way, with a post script he entitled, conclusion.  This conclusion started with the words, “SO ENDETH THIS CHRONICLE.”

It was an early work, maybe he wanted to add this final touch instead of, the end.

If you haven’t read Twain for a while, might be time.

“The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the same as the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”   Mark Twain