February, 2010
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Dear Cowgirls and Friends,
Sigh. I had really hoped that somehow I would get this out to you before Valentine's Day, but that is not going to happen. I am not going to re-edit everything to reflect that fact. The recipes will still be good for a romantic time, even if they do come in after the holiday itself.
January was not as uneventful as usual. Maybe I'll catch a break in February. I need to get back on track for my big novel revision. I really want to have my colored-card revision outline ready by the time I get to California in April, if things work out as I am hoping. Sometimes I can get a lot done when I'm visiting my friend, Laura, in Sunnyvale, and if the cards are all ready to go (which means I would also have the annotated print-out) it would be a very good project for that. If all goes as hoped for, I will be in Sunnyvale for a couple/few weeks, with the last weekend of the month (also the last weekend of my visit) spent in Sacramento, for my first in-person Solar Cooking International board meeting. If any Cowgirl writers (or friends) are in those areas, let me know if you want to get together for coffee or something.
Brighten up a dull winter day with a colorful hobby!
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Color Every Day
February can be a dull month in the north, when it's not deciding to blow in a late blizzard. It's a good month for working with color, whether it be beads, yarn, drawing, painting, mind-mapping with colored pens or markers, browsing graphic sites, or cruising the floral department in your supermarket just to look. Make sure you get some color every day this month. Our need for light in the dark time of year is clear, and I believe that color is equally important to mood. Watch for what color you can spot outdoors—sunsets on snow can be fabulous—and be sure your indoor life gives you some exposure to colors that wake you up and lift your mood. Write yourself some colors. Pick your favorite color, the one with the most power to lift your mood, and try writing about it in second person. Write a rainbow or a sunrise, a carnival or parade. Writing or even just thinking about color can change our moods… some people say it can heal.
Write Into the Heart
For those of us who live where it is celebrated, Valentine's Day puts a splash of color in mid-month, especially for those fond of red or pink or those willing to eschew convention and celebrate with whatever colors they please. At a time of year when winter seems as if it has gone on a long time, and signs of spring are often few and far between, it's easy to get irritable. Maybe a small exchange of treats and endearments at this time can help us remember what is really important, help us remember that with late winter here, spring cannot be far behind. The crocuses will push their buds up and open to the sun soon, the miracle of green will return. Here are some words for February writes:
valentine heart drab love crocus lace lonely snuggle hate honesty cherish melt slippery red heartbreak leap pink chocolate bitter fidelity romance break endless hotel lovers star embrace sky-blue necklace slush president gold cherry roses purple isolation gift slush fancy |
Defy convention and celebrate Valentine's day with whatever colors you like!
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Take one or two or a few out for a write, to warm up, then consider seasonal complications or conflicts. Did someone get confused and send the wrong valentines to the wrong people? In places where winters are long, cabin fever can be even worse by February than it is in January. Valentine's Day is also another of those holidays that aren't necessarily happy for everyone. Lonely people are reminded of their loneliness. It's an awful time to be in a break-up situation, but it happens. Complications can be funny, too… like an O'Henry comedy twist, where she gets tickets for two for a progressive rock show (not her favorite), and it turns out he got tickets for two for the ballet (not his favorite)… on the same night. There are always lots of ways to complicate a holiday, and the weather can certainly pull extremes in February, too. Once you've got your complication, take the previous words or a sprinkle of new ones and go for another write. Writing practice that includes seasonal details will give your writing more reality and dimension.
Sweet Love
Sweets are a popular gift at Valentine's Day, and fudge is a favorite for many people. Really good commercial fudge is often very expensive. Here is an easy way you can make around two pounds of delicious fudge (more or less, depending on add-ins) for less than the price of one pound of the expensive commercial kind, and no candy thermometer is needed.
| Easy Fudge | |
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Prepare an 8"x8", 9"x9", or 7"x11" baking pan by lining with wax paper (or butter the pan if you don't have wax paper, but I think wax paper works better). Heat the sweetened condensed milk, either in a microwave or a double boiler, stirring occasionally, or a saucepan on very low heat that you keep stirring constantly until your milk is steaming. Melt in the chocolate morsels and butter (and marshmallows if using; see Variations). Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and add-ins if using. Pour and scrape into prepared pan and let cool (if you want it to set up faster, refrigerate it). Cut when thoroughly cool and set, which will be easiest of you take it out of the pan (which should be possible if you used the wax paper), peel off the wax paper, and cut on a clean cutting board. Store tightly covered. If you keep your house on the cool side, you can store it outside the fridge, but if your house is warm, refrigerate it. Variations: For a creamier, slightly lighter texture, melt in two cups of miniature marshmallows. For one of the healthiest chocolate candies I know, substitute at least one cup of extra dark morsels for the semi-sweet chocolate (the darker the chocolate, the more anti-oxidants), put in lots of walnuts and some finely snipped dried cherries and blueberries, and use two teaspoons of vanilla. Eat this in moderation, because it still has fat, even if none of it is trans fat and some of it is good-for-you fat. Walnuts are even better for your heart than olive oil, and cherries and berries are good for eyes, immune system, joints, and more. I recently learned that vanilla is an antioxidant, too. I think that is totally cool—the tastiest medicinal tincture on earth, in the right proportions mixed with the right foods or beverages. Add some to your chocolate milk or cocoa or smoothies, too. You can use all extra-dark chocolate chips in your Easy Fudge, but it will be a very grown-up kind of candy if you do. Yum. |
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Chocolate-dipped strawberries are yummy, romantic, and easy to make. Just be sure the strawberries are dry to the touch when you dip them into your favorite melted chocolate, and place on waxed paper to chill.
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Sensual Love
Of all the images of Naples I found cruising Imagekind, this one captured my attention. It has some of the same vibrant subtlety of Pasta alla Puttanesca. It is easy to believe people would eat a dish like this in a place like that at sunset.
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If you're looking for something special for that candlelit dinner, you might want to try one of my favorite pasta dishes, "Capellini alla Puttanesca", which my cookbook informs me is Neapolitan and translates to "streetwalkers-style" pasta. Well then. I guess you would expect it to be sensual. It is. Mama mia, as some ad or other used to say when I was a kid. Though it is a hot dish, the uncooked "sauce" is more like a dressing than what most Americans think of as pasta sauce. I know the sauce ingredient list looks somewhat scary and improbable if you've never tried it, and it's not even that pretty, but by the time it comes out of the food processor or blender, no one can tell what is in it. Almost everyone I have tried it on enjoys this dish, and most of them make noises (the mmm and ahhh kind) when they eat it, even little kids. My sis made it for a bunch of Marines and guy-friends, when her son was home on leave, and those tough young men couldn't get enough of it. My son requests it almost every year for his birthday dinner.
Much as I love food, there aren't many foods that get that kind of noise out of me, but this dish does it every time. Shop at least a couple of days ahead, so you can find the best-looking tomatoes one can in February, and then you can leave them on the counter a couple of days to ripen up a little more if they need it. The inspiration for this recipe comes from The Romagnoli's Meatless Cookbook, by G. Franco Romagnoli , but I have made some changes to lighten it up and Americanize it just a tad and season it to my own family's taste. You can use pitted Sicilian olives packed in brine (not dried) for a more authentic flavor.
Serve with a salad (or steam or microwave a frozen Italian-compatible veggie mix, if you don't want salad or don't have time) and some fresh French or Italian or garlic bread. If you prepare the sauce and salad ahead of time, there is very little last-minute fuss. Candles and flowers optional but nice.
| Capellini alla Puttanesca |
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1/2–1 can anchovy fillets in olive oil (I use a whole can, but if you are feeling very timid, use less if that will get you to try it), drained 3 tablespoons capers 1 can pitted black olives, drained 3–5 garlic cloves 1/4 cup chopped parsley 1/3 cup olive oil, with white wine, broth, saved black olive liquid, or white grape juice added to the 1/2 cup mark 1 tablespoon soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos (optional but good… it is not enough soy sauce to make it taste oriental, but it brings out subtle flavors) 1–2 dashes Tabasco Sauce 1/2–1 teaspoon salt fresh ground pepper to taste 1 1/2 cup fresh, peeled tomatoes (preferably plum tomatoes), chopped coarsely 1/3 cup grated Romano cheese 1 lb. Capellini (or other favorite long pasta; adjust timing accordingly) Additional Romano or Parmesan cheese to pass at table. |
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A food processor is the easiest way to make this, but you could probably do it in a blender, though you'd have to stop and push down the sides more often. You can also mince the heck out of everything (except the tomatoes, which should be a medium dice if you're doing them by hand) with a sharp knife. Chop-chop-chop. That's how my sis does it. I'm going to write it for the food processor and hope that you can translate if you use another method—if not, drop me a line. Turn on the food processor and drop in the garlic. When the garlic is minced (and probably mostly stuck to the sides), scrape down the sides and add everything except the tomatoes and cheese. Pulse a few times, scrape down the sides, then let it run until all looks thoroughly minced. Add your coarsely chopped tomatoes and pulse a couple of times to make the pieces of tomato a little smaller, but don't puree them. Add the cheese and give one quick pulse to mix it in. Set aside. You could make this ahead for less last-minute fuss. Refrigerate if you make it more than a couple of hours ahead, but remove from fridge an hour before you start your pasta, because you want your sauce to be room temperature when you add it to the hot pasta. If I were doing it hours ahead, I would stir in hand-cut tomatoes when I pulled it out of the fridge. When you start heating salted water for your pasta, put on a kettle of water, too, for boiling water to rinse off the excess starch without cooling the pasta. Put an ovenproof bowl or casserole in a 275 degree oven to heat. If you are using capellini, absolutely do not put it into the boiling water (always add pasta to boiling water) until everything else is ready. Capellini cooks very quickly, and you do not want to overcook it because you're still fussing with salad. Trust me on this. When all is ready, cook your capellini in plentiful boiling water until it is just al dente (still has a some definite 'bite' in the middle of the strands). Drain quickly, rinse quickly with boiling water, drain. Capellini is so thin and delicate it continues to cook as you do this, which is why you want to start draining with it just barely done right. Get out your hot bowl (do not set it on a cold or wet surface), brush or spray a little olive oil around the sides, and add the hot pasta and room temperature sauce, in a few quick layers. When all is in the bowl, toss it just a little to mix (if you toss too much, all the more-or-less solids will end up on the bottom). Serve with extra cheese. Notes: It is easy to peel tomatoes if you drop them into boiling water for about 15 seconds (with really ripe ones, 10 will do), then dip them in cold water. The skins will slip right off. Capers, if you don't know, are little pickled green flower buds, with kind of a mildly peppery taste, used for seasoning things, especially seafood and certain sauces (try chopping or mincing a little into your tartar sauce). Look for them in little jars by the fancy pickles, but they are cheaper by the ounce in bigger jars if you are fortunate enough to live near an Italian grocery store. Capers will keep virtually forever in your fridge, if the lid is on tight. If you are seriously vegetarian or you absolutely cannot bring yourself to try it with the anchovies for whatever reason, my top pick suggestion for a substitute would be a tablespoon or two of a medium or dark miso. Marmite or Vegemite or another of the yeast extract spreads might also be worth trying (probably in lesser amounts than miso). It wouldn't be exactly the same, but it might work. You have to substitute something on the strong, dark, and savory side for the anchovies to balance the other flavors. If you just leave them out (even if you add a little more salt) without substituting something with that salty, savory authority, you may still have an edible dish, but it probably will not result in as many noises of delight. |
Closer to Revision
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My first completed Feldrea novel draft is getting closer to the real revision. [There is another that is half-done, in addition to the completed rough draft, but this one, besides being plot-finished, I think has better odds for a first-sell.] The new line-per-scene plot outline I used from Holly's Create A Plot Clinic did such a good job of keeping the story going that I really did skip over too much detail—a very odd feeling still, but also very cool compared to how I used to get all the detail to the nth degree and stumble over plot. You can't make people feel as if they are on an alien planet if all they ride by are things like a "lone tree" or "sparse bush" or "tall shrub." I've made a good start on filling a couple of holes where I leapt ahead a little too fast, and some alien flora/fauna/landscape is fleshing out, so to speak, so I am getting closer to ready for the big plot-card shuffle and printout. Then comes the part where I have to decide if I need to take over the dining room table for a couple/few days/weeks, or if I can live with a folding camp table jammed into my studio for that time while I play with paper and shuffle cards.
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Cowgirl Express subscriber Suebee, who is also a member of my freewriting group, sent the following feedback:
A bit of update - I followed your advice on Holly Lisle's Plot Clinic. You are right; it's great. My deck of plot cards is getting thicker and I shuffle them constantly! |
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I am still planning on combining ideas from Holly's Create A Plot Clinic with ideas from her One-Pass Manuscript Revision: From First Draft to Last in One Cycle article and another one I found (which may pre-date the One-Pass article), How to Revise a Novel. Since my plans require more than one novel a year (I am hoping to get to where I can average two, but at least 1.5), I am hoping Holly's revision ideas will result in a direct, confident process. My goal is to have my marked manuscript and colored revision plot cards ready for my April Trip. [See the end of Create A Plot to learn about the cards; it's brilliant!] I will also be using concepts I have learned from Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King, which are pretty ingrained by now and will dovetail nicely with the new methods I am using.
At revision time, I will also find out how well my decision to just write scenes in the first draft and "chapterize" in revision will work out. It certainly saved a lot of time and headaches in the first draft not to worry about it, and the scenes are the real building blocks. Once I know I've got them in the order in which I want them (and have gotten rid of any I don't need), I think I'll see clearly where to put chapter breaks and tweak any beginning or ending scene starts or endings accordingly in revision.
Lose the Flab—Smart Cuts Save Time
One thing Holly basically recommends certainly jibes with my experience in my old market. Once you are ready to start revising, do the big cuts before you tweak the little bits. Why spend time doing finicky things to copy you may decide to cut out entirely later on? Processing things in the right order makes for a much quicker revise-and-edit process, whether the work is a short story or a novel. Tweaking and fussing too much before cutting is rather like doing a nose job on someone who really needs an appendectomy. I wasted quite a bit of time during the early years in my old market, but then I got smart and looked for bigger cuts first.
Do not ever try to "save" yourself from having to cut fiction by trying to write to your desired word count in the first place. I am firmly in Stephen King's camp (see On Writing) when it comes to the issue of cutting. If you don't cut, your story will probably come out flabby, and if you prink too much as you go along, it will lack drive; your plot is too apt to get lost in the prinking.
I love my mental image of Gnarla's massive paws in the dust as she carries Feldrea along the trail, but if I write it all out every time they come up, my readers will soon be sick of them.
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It is hard to see the big picture when you are in the middle of writing a story. Gross redundancies (this means bigger bits that come up over and over, as opposed to repetition of single words or short phrases) can creep in, because it's hard sometimes to remember which bits are already covered. Maybe we always think of Elwood's car as his "high-powered, red Jaguar with the custom flame detailing," but really, after the first time or two your reader knows what Elwood is driving, so you don't have to do the whole bit every time. Scenes can get written that are interesting but turn out in the end not to really further the plot. (Save the ones you really like for possible recycling.) Three characters end up doing a job that you could be doing better with one. Some things get over-explained. Etcetera, etcetera.
I won't be saying much about my old market in this newsletter. It was an adults-only market and I want this newsletter to stay all-ages, but I do have a lot of short story editing experience, having sold 32 of them in the old market (not a single rejection), many of them written under deadlines, and all between 5K and 12K in length. I usually shoot for at least a ten to twenty percent overwrite when it comes to fiction, because I get tighter, more compelling stories that way—though in special circumstances, I have had to cut by up to 50% and have still come out with a great, tight story.
An uncut story is like a watermelon… full of rich, sweet juice you will experience only if you cut all the way into the heart of it.
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When you get paid by the word and you have a firm top limit, you will obviously make the most money if you get as close as you can without going over, but to keep selling, your story has to be a good one. There were a couple of times in my old market when I had rough drafts that came out just about at my word-count limit. I briefly considered just sending them off and going to bed, but they just did not have the nice, tight structure my other stories did. They were short enough, but short and flabby. Not pretty. Not compelling enough. I had to dive back in and add some detail and a new idea or two, fleshing out by really telling a little more story, not fluff-padding—there is a difference. Then I cut the whole piece to get a good result. That is my advice… some of it anyway.
Site News, Haiti News
Getting the Space 1 gallery up on top of efforts involved in the Help Matenwa, Lagonave, Haiti page and the January newsletter was a lot of work for Josh, and he does have a day job and many other family responsibilities, so the newest additions to the site are short but sweet. There is a new index on the Fiction page of links to more of Holly Lisle's articles that I have found especially helpful, on the topics of starting and finishing a novel, agents, revision, and more. Holly's article on finishing really gave me a boost when I read it halfway through NaNoWriMo.
The Matenwa page has a new link to a CNN video report from Lagonave, and there may be other new updates on the page, depending on when you last looked. I am delighted to report that classes at the Matenwa Community Learning Center (MCLC) are back in session, even though they must meet outdoors because of damage to the buildings.
A blackboard and benches in a circle are the only equipment in this emergency outdoor classroom, but the Haitian students and teacher are attentive and engaged. Go here for more inspiring pictures.
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At last report, MCLC is the only school on Lagonave with classes in session, probably one of the few in Haiti. Their determination to revive their community and use education to give the children a future with hope and possibilities never quits. These are eyes-on-the-prize people, big-time. The school staff and volunteers and members of Famn Kouraj (Courageous Women) are all still working together on many other aspects of earthquake recovery and community support (and beyond their community, to try to help the whole island if they can), but they are managing to do that and hold classes, too. There are people on Lagonave with virtually no education who are prey to a rumor that major powers are setting off bombs underneath Haiti that caused the shaking. MCLC is working to educate both the children and outlying adults about the nature of earthquakes, and to come up with ways of providing emotional as well as physical support for shaken people.
The situation on Lagonave is still grave. What little food can be found is very expensive. Price gouging has driven prices up by up to 50%, sometimes more. Relatives who were living on mainland Haiti are coming back to Lagonave, because things are more peaceful on the island, if no less desperate, and people want to be with their families when times are hard. The population of Lagonave has increased by some 20% since the earthquake. The school found enough bags of rice to help them get by until some larger shipment can be arranged for, but things are very tight. The primary time for planting is coming soon, and people will be forced to eat things like beans they were saving for seed to keep from dying (or watching their children die). So in addition to funds for things like repairing buildings and feeding people, money will be needed to replace seed that has been eaten in desperation, so the growing push for food self-sufficiency for Lagonave can continue.
Courage, the power that helps us face the challenges of life without retreating, has its roots in the word for heart, which makes it a good topic for February. What does courage mean to you? What happens when people combine their courage, be they sisters, brothers, comrades or just humans on this earth? Is the sum greater than its parts? What is your experience with solo courage and group courage? What has it taught you about the nature of courage? Think about that for a minute, then go for a courageous write.
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It will be even easier for those who are already gardening to convince others that it is a good idea to plant a garden (it is very challenging there because of the water situation, but they are developing special techniques that work), but you cannot plant a garden without seeds. Some of the recovery donations will help keep the hope of greater food-sufficiency alive.
Please give what you can to Famn Kouraj via the VP Foundation. I don't remember if there is a way to personalize a donation beyond your email address, but if there is, you might put down "cowgirl", so they know we are trying to help. PayPal makes it easy to donate just one dollar, if that is all you can spare. It all adds up.
Admirable Authors
I would like to congratulate one of the members of this list, Mingmei Yip, on the upcoming early-March release of her second novel, Petals from the Sky. The mere thought of reading this Buddhist, interracial love story set in China, Paris, and Manhattan has me panting with booklust. The cover art is beyond exquisite. It may be the most beautiful book cover I have ever seen, lovely and haunting. Mingmei's publisher is giving her fabulous covers. I think Mingmei (or her publisher, depending on who has rights to what) should sell prints of the cover art. Mingmei's first novel, Peach Blossom Pavilion, was a stunning and engaging work of fiction. I highly recommend this wonderful storyteller. Mingmei Yip's writing and editing are absolutely first-rate. I've had my release-day copy of the new one on order at my indie for over a month now.
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I met an author on the Writer's Digest forums who I really like, Stacy-Deanne. She writes mystery/suspense, with two novels out and more in the pipe. Her pay-forward spirit and attitude remind me a lot of Holly Lisle, and she has a similar no-nonsense, cut-to-the-chase style when it comes to writing advice. I haven't read either of her books yet (though she is now on my "someday" list), but I sure like some of her advice for writers, which you can find tucked away all over her website, as well as in a series of free articles indexed here.
I hope all of you can find some love and color in your Februaries and in your writing. Until next month, take care and write on. Your vision is depending on you.
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Best Regards, Sharon |
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P.S. This month's creativity kudos go out to write-'em-cowgirl Jan Phillips, not just for her writing (though it is certainly creative) but for her creative approach to art, writing, and lifestyle. Jan tells a great story of a long-ago day when she was talking to a group of big time pros about her ideas for combining her photography and writing. She was told no one could combine both and furthermore, she would have to specialize when it came to photography… that one person could not shoot animals and people and landscapes, etc. They told her she would have to limit herself to achieve professional success.
Today, all of Jan's books and workshops are living, breathing testaments to the fact that one person can combine multiple talents into a successful, professional career. Pursuing her creative dreams without listening to those limiters has resulted in a lifestyle many might envy. When Jan is not home in San Diego writing and teaching, she might be at her retreat house on the lake in upstate New York writing and teaching, or she might be visiting the polar bears or off in Hawaii. This May she will be giving a workshop in Italy. Jan Phillips is one write-'em-cowgirl who really gets out and around! If there are any people on this list who have not already visited Jan's website, I highly encourage you to do so, to see how intelligent creativity trumped professional limitation. Sign up for Jan's free monthly Museletter while you are there. Jan, you are one of the most intensely creative people I have ever known, and you have my gratitude and admiration for standing steadfast against the forces of creative limitation. You go girl!