Radar's last ride

Wrapped in a blanket I carried her to the van and placed her gently in the back. On the way my head filled with images from six years earlier.

I had taken coffee and newspaper to the patio and thumbed through the paper while trying to keep Beau, the feisty Maltese from lapping coffee from my mug.The ad pulled at my heart. Five year old female German shepherd Free to right home. Call for interview.Two days later Radar the shepherd that was brought back from her master's stint in Germany interviewed us. She joined our family the following week, and we were thrilled to have been chosen. Her master was unexpectedly assigned to an indefinite time of service in Afghanistan.

My wife keeping her eyes on Radar, gasped, covering her mouth in surprise.Tears filled her eyes as she said, "Can you see from the rear view mirror . . . " I adjusted the mirror and my eyes met Radar. She was sitting, head pointed toward the window, muzzle in the air, smiling. How that girl loved to ride, to go, to see. Was it a miracle?

Radar was five when she spent her first night with us. She came into our room several times during the night seeming to be restless. Our daughter reported the same story. We attributed it to loneliness, unease, and figured she would settle down in time. We were mistaken on all counts. Radar kept the same watch over us for six years. She followed a rigorous schedule surveying, inspecting and checking every room and all occupants throughout the night. During the daylight hours, she cat-napped close to the front door.

Six weeks earlier her eyesight had gone and her veterinarian attributed all of her symptoms to old age. No matter how closely we watched after Radar, she bumped into furniture, ran into walls, and missed doorways. The only way we kept her from executing her watch schedule at night was keeping her in our room locked inside her kennel.

The morning she had the seizure my wife and I were able to be by her side. We notified the clinic that we were bringing her in.

The news I dreaded was given. Radar's brain had detached from the stem. There was no option to choose.

I held her in my arms as she lay on the table. We communicated without saying a word. Her sienna eyes never left mine as the doctor emptied the syringe and left us alone. She thanked me for taking her in. I thanked her for loving and caring for me and my family. I told her I wished I'd taken her with me more often.

Oh, I knew Radar loved to go with me, but I never knew how much it meant until her last ride.

Words Get in Your Head
FaceBook
Twitter

                                                       Amazon     Barnes&Noble   Xlibris

Running Nowhere

Sometimes, no matter how fast or how hard you run, there are things you cannot escape.  Conor Kelman has a bad case of ADHD, but nobody knew much about learning disabilities. If you ask his friends, peers, or teachers they will probably say Conor is just a weird, strange kid. Heck, Conor will admit that . . . and more.
Book One Among the Jimson Weeds of the Running Nowhere Trilogy is published. The book will be released soon and available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and book stores. For those who want to meet Conor now, the Softcover and Hardcover formats are available at Xlibris.

Among the Jimson Weeds—Conor Kelman began searching for love and acceptance, that feeling of fitting in, at a very young age. He blamed his parents for uprooting him, dragging him from all the places he called home, from his friends, time and again. He didn’t go willingly, but he was just a kid, so he did his kicking and screaming in his heart. Of course, what goes up must come down, so that inner turmoil had to express itself. But that wasn’t all. Conor had an external set of problems, too. He saw movies in his head that interrupted the flow of his thoughts and interfered with his responses. The images were often frightening and foreboding, and no one understood, even those closest to him, so they bubbled under the surface constantly disrupting Conor privately, creating a separation—him verses others. Conor grasps to connect to something that matters—his girlfriend—his guitar—a little white house in an apple orchard. He fights constantly. He fights his natural instincts to be accepted. He pretends people aren't important and that opinions of others don’t matter while seeking that illusive acceptance. He doesn't have a dull moment, even in the most mundane situations. His personal expression is raw, surprising and fun. Conor understands life in pure and simple terms... such as his belief that he is always messing up, as well as his belief in his ability to pitch a baseball well. Despite his insistence that he is stupid, Conor is a bright young man who is ready to take on the world with the help of his friends. Anyone who has ever felt different or who has had to endure problems of their own creation will relate to Conor. Conor's story is a heart-opening adventure. It has the ability to awaken the soul to possibilities. Journey with Conor and remember how joy can grow from the pain, like Conor, growing among the noxious jimson weeds. Let Conor’s true-to-life experiences entertain and enlighten. The vast array of characters that surround Conor make for a read that provides a non-stop merry-go-round of expression, hope, laughter and tears. Among the Jimson Weeds is Book One in the Running Nowhere Trilogy. Once Conor gets in your head, you'll want more. Watch for book two, Between the Pieces, and book three, Within Time coming soon. 

Your novel awaits--grab it fast!

I am asked on occasion where I get ideas for novels. The answer is the same: "From the Universe," I say.

Getting the idea for a novel is the easy part. As the saying (somewhat) goes, if I had a dollar for every idea I get for a novel, I'd be a millionaire whether I write one or not.  

However, an idea is simply an idea and nothing more until action is taken. If it's a good idea, it will demand attention, haunting you until you take action. Perhaps you'll write a synopsis, or a brief outline of the plot. It might be a character that demands recognition, or a plot twist. The point being, action sets the idea into motion, giving it life.

The idea will not wait forever, so if it's a good fit, grab it fast before it finds someone else.

The art of wasting time

I discovered first hand the art of wasting valuable writing time, and I'm willing to share what I learned. I prefer my laptop for writing, and like many writers I use social networking, a website, and blog to promote my work. My laptop goes everywhere I go, allowing me to work in my office, the family room, at the kitchen table, and at my favorite coffee shop, opening up hours of writing time.


Anyway, that was my reasoning.


To stop wasting time, I adhere to five rules:
1. Do a trial study of preferred work stations/locations, and use the spot where I am most productive.
2. Set 15 minutes max for tweeting, and another 15 minutes for Facebook posts.
3. Keep website updated by scheduling two hours (more if needed) once a week after or before my writing time.
4. Schedule one hour twice a week to make blog entries.
5. Stick to the allotted times by setting a timer.


As you know, there are lots of ways to waste time, but I've found using one place for writing, and sticking to a schedule for networking, website maintenence and blog writing free up hours of productive writing.


Now, when I visit the coffee shop, I'm not only free to embrace the rich, bold, organic flavor of my coffee, but to add new character material from people watching.

Living with the protagonist: Is there life after birth?

As an author of fiction, my job is to create characters that fit the story. The characters must be equipped with traits and personalities that capture interest and compassion. Even the worst scalawag should have one redeeming quality.

This requires getting to know the characters inside and out, turning flat paper doll descriptions into living, breathing entities. When I know everything about my characters, then the reader can believe them.

How do I know when a character is developed? It's when the character crosses the line between me and the laptop screen.

My protagonist keeps me up late, wakes me from sleep, and makes demands. He refuses to stay with the outline, and makes modifications to the plot. I confess, there are times when I've asked him to shut up in graphic terms.

A new protagonist with a new story to tell will take his place, and Conor will give me some space as he walks through the pages of Among the Jimson Weeds sharing his life with people other than me.

He'll still drop by. Same as my kids, no matter where they may be, they're in my heart forever.

Visit Paul's Website

Writing goals: How many words does a writer write?

 If a word-writer does write words, how many words does a word-writer write?

I don't know if woodchucks set daily goals for chucking wood, but it's a must for writers. The daily word output is necessary to meet the long range goal of writing the novel. It's the final specific act of writing.


After completing a list of specific goals related to plot, characters, and research it's time to write the novel. You write one word at a time, one page at a time, one chapter at a time until it's finished.


The question is how many words do you write?


The answer, It depends, should only be an option if the goal date for completion was ignored, and then, It depends can be the pat answer for all questions regarding the novel.


How many words do writers write each day? There is no magic number; however, the goal should be reachable while presenting a challenge. I know authors who have goals from 500 to 2,000 words per day. I set a minimum goal, and on days when the words come hard, I stop when I reach it; when the words flow, I leave the goal in the dust and write until my fingers bleed.

Good-bye schedule, hello boredom

Wouldn't it be nice to eliminate schedules? Do what we want when we want? In my up-coming novel, the young protagonist wails about schedules being too confining. In reference to chores he says, "It's like the damn cows will blow up if they aren't milked exactly at six o'clock morning and night."


Obviously, schedules are necessary. Imagine being told your flight to New Orleans leaves sometime in the afternoon, or that the doctor can see you after his hospital rounds. Even knowing schedules are necessary to get done what we want to accomplish, it's easy to let them slide. Not only is production effected, but unscheduled time opens the stream of destructive behaviors.


Whatever the addiction, it welcomes unscheduled time. Hours in front of the television, mindless eating, drinking, endless Internet surfing and viewing . . . all time wasters that can become emotionally and physically unhealthy.


Perhaps Conor, the aforementioned protagonist, should be told that a caveat of no schedules is boredom.