Tag Archives: Karen McFarland

Hush, Hush…Voices Carry

After just writing a post about kicking and screaming, you can imagine how dumbfounded I was when I learned of a woman who had lost her voice for almost thirty years. Okay, I guess it’s true—you could communicate by written word or sign language, yet have you ever thought of what it would be like to not have a voice?
 

Most times when we think of someone with a sensory disability we immediately assume it has to do with loss of hearing or perhaps blindness. But think how frustrating it would be to lose the ability to use one’s own voice.
 

Now I know to some, like my Husband or my two sons, they probably would’ve loved for me at some point in my life to have lost my voice. LOL!!! Ah, the thought of no one to argue with, no one to tell my two son’s to get up in the morning, to get ready for school, to brush their teeth, to clean their rooms, to do their homework, to feed the dog. Well you get my point.
 

But can you imagine that one day after a year of marriage you suddenly lose your voice? You lose the ability to hear yourself speak, to hear yourself sing, to hear your own laughter.
 

However that is what happened to a woman named Betty Lou Trufant, a resident of Westbrook, Maine in 1982 after contracting a strange virus. It was the virus that had caused her vocal cords to become paralyzed, thus her inability to speak, laugh or sing.
 

This brings to mind the tragic story of Julie Andrews and how her beautiful ability to sing was affected or more recently country music singer Shania Twain or British soulful songstress Adele.
 

Think about it. A voice is one instrument you cannot purchase at a music store!
 

Betty Lou was resigned to live this way for the rest of her life until she watched a segment of the news about a woman in a similar situation who had regained her voice after four months by getting throat massages at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
 

Encouraged by this news, Betty Lou travelled to the clinic to see if doctors could also find a remedy for her. Once there, she was told that a massage wouldn’t be enough to cure her, but there was an operation that would enable her to speak again and that she could even sing!
 

The decision was made, and after an hour and twenty minute procedure, she was back to full health able to talk, laugh and sing at full volume for the first time in over 29 years and now has a new lease on life with her voice restored to its former glory!
 

How might we relate to this? Well as writers we might liken it to being stricken with writer’s block. Like a virus, our writer’s voice suddenly disappears. Some may scoff at this idea saying there is no such thing. But like a virus, our minds can become infected by negative thoughts that can leave us paralyzed if unattended. Yet we can be thankful this is only a temporary condition, for our voices carry.
 

So what do you think? Many of us may have had at one time or another a form of laryngitis, but could you ever imagine living without a voice or as a writer being paralyzed, not able to put down all your thoughts onto the page? What would you do? Would you allow a disability to inhibit your enjoyment out of life and just give up or would you be able to have the mindset to push forward?
 

If you enjoyed this, I encourage you to follow by email for future posts.
 

Thank you for your many thoughts and kind comments everyone!
Karen
 

A big thanks to all my new WANA friends and all others that may grace my presence by visiting this post. Take care and make it a great day!

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ROW80: Kicking and Screaming!

Why do I say Kicking and Screaming?
 

BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS!
 

I’m way out of my comfort zone here! But okay, I’ll do it!
 

You see, I need to kick my rear into gear. I need to get back to novel writing and put some balance back into my life. My life—after Kristen Lamb.
 

Now don’t get me wrong. Kristen Lamb has my utmost respect as the Super Social Media Queen of the Universe. She really knows her stuff and I really loved her class. But…
 

I’m way out of sync and it’s time to whip myself into shape!
 

This sounds way too much like exercise. Do I really have to do this?
 

Okay, okay. Here it goes!
 

Here are my goals for round 1:
 

1- Work on my current WIP at least 5 days a week. In saying this I mean work at it like it’s my job. Do I want to put a word count on this? Uh, well…no. I know what’s normal for me and I’m happy with that. I think it’s a quality verses quantity thing. So this being my first Round of Words in 80 Days, I’m keeping it simple. Low pressure sounds good to me.

2– Check in with Donna Newton over at WWBC once a week. If more often I’m afraid I would drive poor Donna nuts. lol
 
3– Participate in an online class for authors taught by Bob Mayer. This should be good. I’ve taken a class by Bob before and I learned a lot from him. He’s teaching authors the business side of writing and how to balance both.
 
4– Blog at least once a week. (If I can post a blog twice a week, that’s great. But I know that I can at least post one blog. I’ve got Hubby’s spinal surgery coming up in two weeks and rehab, so I’m cutting myself some slack.
 
5– Visit and support 5 bloggers per day. I consider this a priority. I want to support the success of other bloggers!
 
6– Tweet at least once per day. Helping promote others on Twitter is another priority.
 
7– And because I mentioned exercise at the beginning of my post, this has to be an important goal. I’ve been walking a few times a week, but staring at my elliptical isn’t cutting it. So I’m making it a goal to get on that machine at least twice per week. This way I can whip myself into shape in more ways than one! Not that I’m in bad shape, but I know Hubby will certainly like this and I’ll feel better about myself!
 

Whew, okay I did it. That wasn’t really so bad. And I’m not alone. There are others that will be right beside me to help me along the way. So that I don’t irritate my wonderful supportive subscribers, feel free to delete my ROW80 posts if they start to irritate you. They probably won’t be all that interesting, unless…
 
Unless I can tempt you all to join us at the party over at ROW80. See you there! 🙂
 
 

So what do you think? Can I do it? Will I be able to meet my new goals with renewed zeal and exuberance? Are you all behind me? Can I count on your support?
 
 
Awe, thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!
Karen.

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Guest Post by Angela Peart

I can’t tell you how excited I am for Angela Peart to be my guest. Like most of you, I was drawn to her gravatar on Twitter and Facebook. Have you ever seen anyone exude so much happiness within a single shot of their face?

Yet, I have learned there is much more to Angela Peart than simply meets the eye.

She was European born and raised in the country of Poland and now resides near Seattle, Washington while balancing her many responsibilities as a wife, mother and writer of Adult, YA and Children’s literature. She is a hopeless romantic, a self-appointed organic food ambassador and an environmentalist with a passion for watercolor paints.
 

A romantic organic environmentalist? Love that!
 

It can be no surprise that Angela prefers sunshine over rain, loves all types of music from Train to Chopin along with one of my personal favs, jazz musician Jesse Cook landing somewhere in-between. She has an exceptional flair for salsa dancing. Arriba! And on any given day she can be seen wearing her designer heels to the least of appropriate places.
 

Her son’s soccer practice? Okay, we won’t go there.
 

So with the everyday juggling act that Angela has to face, how is it that she is able to keep her focus and what has helped her to achieve her many goals?
 

Well with 2012 just around the corner, Angela is here not only to answer that question, but she is going to share with us her highly motivating formula for success!
 

So without further ado, I am thrilled to introduce to you, Angela Peart!
 
 
 
 

Thanks Karen and hello everyone!
 

As was mentioned, our lives can easily get in the way of our main objectives and achievements.
What I’d like to do is share with you what has helped me and many others to change that by
keeping us accountable while successfully achieving our goals.
 

What’s the best thing about it?

It really works…
 
 

ROW80 Straightened My Twisted Perspective on How To Achieve My Goals.
 
 

We all have goals. It must be in the human nature to realize what our desires are and to shape them into the quantifiable and time-targeted intentions simply called “a list of goals”. Some of us have a long list, while others might only have a few items on it.
 

Or maybe there is just this one goal that is strategically placed in front of other goals—we consider it most important for our immediate future. Perhaps we have a list of goals that are connected to one another, like stepping stones: the completion of some of them strictly depends on achieving the preceding ones.

 

Our goals are usually formed on a realization that our life is currently lacking something—a better job, a slimmer body, healthier eating habits, a fulfilling hobby, etc.

The list might include the goals that have formed simply because we have achieved this one specific goal in the past, but until now we haven’t attached any strings to it.
 
 

For example, let’s say Susie bought a gift certificate for Amy at a craft store. Amy, who has never been very crafty, went to that store and examined various items without really knowing what she should be looking for. Finally, some fabric caught Amy’s eye and she spent her gift certificate on the fabric along with some thread and needles (per the store clerk’s suggestion). Amy took all her purchases home, but she had no idea what to do with them. Susie brought Amy some quilting magazines to look through, and Amy decided that she loved the way the quilts look. So what happened next?
 

Amy had a goal!
 

Her goal was to sign up for a quilting class, which she did. But she needed a sewing machine. So her next goal was to save enough money for that purchase. This was Amy’s goal number one, and as you can see, it made it to her list because of the completion of her previous goal (taking the quilting class), which was also on that list because of another preceding goal—spending her gift certificate on something crafty.
 

This example shows us how we end up with some of our goals without even planning them ahead of time. Just like Amy in my example, we might end up with one goal creating the next and then the next and so on. Amazing how these things work.
 


 
A list of goals might be quite straightforward but the road to completion is often filled with many obstacles. Every now and then we throw our arms up in frustration and quit. Sometimes a goal slowly slips away from our focus and we conveniently “forget” about it. Other times we seriously try to achieve a goal because we know all too well that without completing it we might lose something we don’t want to give up. This is a “working under pressure” scenario that most of us know from experience.
 

I have set up all kinds of goals in the past—some of them I have accomplished, but some I have discarded for various reasons. I’m sure everyone has done their own share of both: great achievements and epic failures.
 

Then last summer I’ve heard for the first time about ROW80.
 

One of my WANA711 buddies Kerry Meacham was participating and posting updates on his blog. I got very interested in learning more and, after doing a bit of a research, I decided to join several of my other WANA711 friends who were signing up in October.
 

There is a bunch of us participating in the current ROW80 round, which ends on December 22nd.
 

I’m already planning to sign up for the next round, and my main reasons are explained below:
 

1. ROW80 is a simple way of structuring and working toward achieving our goals.

2. There is a certain amount of camaraderie and support among the participants.

3. By participating in ROW80 we naturally become a part of a fabulous, compassionate and inspiring writing group.

4. We put our goals (and a pledge to achieve them) on a display, which makes us accountable in the eyes of the other participants (and anyone who reads our updates). In my opinion, this is one of the greatest kinds of motivation.
 

Number 4 is my favorite part of ROW80 because if I am not held responsible for meeting some my goals, I might never achieve them!
 

Everyone who takes part in the ROW80 displays in their blog the official badge that looks like this.

There is also a hashtag of #ROW80 on Twitter where the participants not only post links to their updates, but simply socialize, exchange advices and words of encouragement.
 

Sometimes we set a goal that we truly believe we are capable of achieving but, in the process, we might learn otherwise. The reasons behind us not meeting that goal might be completely out of our hands.
 

Carrie Spencer’s post on trying to fulfill her dream to learn how to juggle is a great example of it. Carrie has discovered that she has a problem with depth perception—thus will not be able to ever master the art of juggling.
 

I also would like to share with you some of my ROW80 friends’ goals and methods of reporting their semi-weekly or weekly achievements or failures.
 
 
Check out Natalie Hartford’s list and her swanky calendar-based reporting. Quite impressive, isn’t it?
 

Gene Lempp is one of the ROW80 Round 4 sponsors. He only has listed three goals, but they are quite substantial. The first one is to participate in the NaNoWriMo by writing fifty thousand words and editing it. By the way, Gene was one of the winners of this year’s NaNo challenge. His other goal was to complete Kristen Lamb’s Blogging for Writers course, which he did. I highly recommend this workshop for every writer who wants to learn how to successfully build his or her online platform.
 

And last but not the least, the brain behind ROW80: the fabulous Kait Nolan! Make sure you visit her Blog and follow her on Twitter.
 
 
Here are a few of my favorite quotes on goals:

A goal without a plan is just a wish.
Antoine de Saint

Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.
Aristotle

Goals are dreams with deadlines.
Diana Scharf Hunt

You must have long term goals to keep you from being frustrated by short term failures.
Charles C. Noble

Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.
Fitzhugh Dodson

In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.
Arnold H. Glasgow
 

May I encourage you all to keep setting your goals and to consider ROW80 to help you achieve them!
 

So thank you everyone and to Karen for having me here as her guest.

Angela
angelapeart.com 
 
 

No, thank you Angela!
 
 

After this encouraging post I think we’re all ready to join you over at ROW80!

I know I am!
 

So what do you think? Do you create lists of goals? And if so, how do you stay focused on achieving them? Do you participate in ROW80? If not, would this be something that could help you stay on task? I would love to hear your ideas and stories of success and/or failure.
 
 

If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to follow by email for future posts.

Thank you for your many thoughts and kind comments everyone!
Karen
 
 

And a big thanks to all my new WANA friends and all others that may grace my presence by visiting this post. Take care and make it a great day!

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Splendour in the Grass

What though the radiance which was once so bright

Be now for ever taken from my sight,

Though nothing can bring back the hour

Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;

We will grieve not, rather find

Strength in what remains behind… *
 
 

Ah, the illustrious Natalie Wood.

There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding Natalie Wood over the years. Sadly, it’s been in relation to how she died—was it an accidental drowning or was it by murder? It’s been thirty years since that sensational incident, yet for some reason the nature of her story continues to tug at our hearts.

Could it be because of her untimely death? Without a doubt she was one of the most beautiful women of her time. There was something about the sparkle in her eyes when she smiled that would light up the screen while her presence would dominate her contemporaries. She appeared in over 50 films altogether and received 3 Oscar nominations before reaching the age of 25.
 
 

Some of Natalie Wood’s blockbuster hits include:
 

“Rebel Without a Cause” opposite James Dean.

“West Side Story” which was adapted from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

“Splendor in the Grass” alongside Warren Beatty.
 

Many of us were much too young to see these great films when they were first released, let alone know who she was. But if you are looking for something new to discover from the archives, these films definitely stand up to the test of time.

It’s disheartening to think of that evening and the conditions that brought about what may have happened. Natalie, her husband Robert Wagner along with their friend and costar Christopher Walken had dined togther that night on the Island of Catalina.

There was certainly plenty of drinking taking place, both on dry land and on their yacht named the Splendor. Then an argument had ensued between husband and wife. It’s been said that Natalie retired for the night and that was the last time her husband Robert Wagner and Christopher Walken had reported to’ve seen her. The very next morning, shortly after sunrise, her body was found by search and rescue helicopters floating face down not 200 yards from their boat.
 

Now this is starting to sound like a Murder Mystery/Suspense/Thriller.

Where is that Barry Crowther? Come back Barry, come back!
 

And after all this time police have decided to reopen the investigation with new evidence that suggests Natalie’s own husband Robert Wagner might be involved in this case. Nooo, say it isn’t so. He and Natalie were in the tenth year of their second marriage together. Why in the world would he want her to die?
 

Well that would end this story with a serious twist!
 

Though circumstances surrounding Natalie Wood’s death have been one of Hollywood’s many enduring mysteries, let us focus on the positive things about Natalie’s life—her timeless beauty and many talents that will forever endure on the silver screen.
 

Thanks to the human heart by which we live,

Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,

To me the meanest flower that blows can give

Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
 

*The poem by William Wordsworth that inspired the film for which this post was named.
 

So what do you think? Have you ever watched a Natalie Wood’s film? If so, which one would you choose as your favorite? Do you enjoy watching some of the classics? And how many of you think that she was murdered or perhaps think that things are better off left unsaid?
 
 

If you enjoyed this post, I encourage you to follow by email for future posts.

Thank you for your many thoughts and kind comments everyone!
Karen
 
 

A big shout out to Kristen Lamb and all my new WANA classmates and friends. And a big thanks to all others that may grace my presence by visiting this post. Take care and make it a great day!

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Guest Post by Barry Crowther

I am pleased to introduce to you a passionate Mystery/Suspense novelist who “…grabs you by the throat and never lets you go”. He is presently carving his way through the Self-Publishing world, has been featured on “Pixel of Ink” and was just announced as Indy Author’s “Rockstar of the Month”.

Although Barry Crowther now resides along the beautiful Southern California coast, he is still a true Mancunian at heart. A Mancunian you say? For those of you who are curious, a Mancunian is a demonym for someone who is from Manchester, a city in the Northwest of England.

Apparently Barry has something in common with our previous guest, Colin Falconer. Both are huge fans of Manchester United, an English professional football club based in, where else? None other than Manchester, England of course. According to Barry, that’s part of the reason why Manchester is so sexy.

And according to Barry’s father, “If you can’t be smart or you can’t be funny, then be brief.”
 

Well then, I’ll get straight to the point. Take it away Barry!
 
 
 
 

Thank you Karen.
 

As you know, when writing a good story, especially one that is filled with mystery and suspense, great care goes into the process to keep the reader on the edge of his seat. But what works for one novelist may not work for another. So I ask, “What is your preference?”
 

Organic vs Plotting
 
 
Do you have a system for writing? Do you Plot or Write Organically?

 
This is a great question. I was asked this during a recent interrogation interview. It was a cool question and made me realize that I actually do both.

For the Matt Spears Mysteries I tend to plot in great detail. I use a really cool tool named Scrivener and this lets me see things in a global fashion (pretty much the whole story) and then allows me to switch to a more detailed scene outline. A great writer called David Hewson (he’s currently writing the novels based on the TV show The Killing) is a great example of plotting with Scrivener. I am meticulous in this department and it takes me longer piecing the plot together than actually writing the scenes!

Once I move over to the process of writing the scenes, a character sometimes takes a left turn that wasn’t plotted and this might throw a spanner (wrench) in the works. One interesting example of this was from Missing. I knew who the perpetrator of the crime was before I wrote the first scenes, but by the time I got to the last 10% of the writing I woke up one morning and thought that it made more sense for another character to be the actual bad guy. I was already 80,000 words in but was still happier to go back and change the plot than be stuck with a story where I was unhappy with the ending.

Like my other post about Twisting the Plot, sometimes we even surprise ourselves. If that happens, surely you are going to outwit the reader.

Now, for Nothing, I was frazzled after completing a previous writing assignment and I didn’t want to start plotting again. So as a break I took a pad and sat in the sunshine outside Starbucks each afternoon and just doodled a story. The opening line was something I really liked: “Looking at the spot where my sister was murdered I felt nothing.” From this line I wrote 40,000 words long hand. I then typed the whole thing back into Scrivener and edited it there, then put it out as a Kindle Novella—the reviews (so far) have been stellar.

I am working on the prequel to Nothing using the same system and writing technique**. I write longhand and am into it around 10,000 words. It’s still a great feeling, my hand moves so quickly and I don’t seem to be hitting any sticking points right now. I always conclude a writing session with something dangling (no, not what you’re thinking), I use some form of connecter or cliff hanger like a new character showing up or something being discovered which is a shocker at that point in the story when I sit down next time I don’t have trouble lifting off again. Works for me.

Any ideas on how a novel grows – do we plot or do we dust off an artifact as Stephen King writes? Interesting, but I think the bottom line is – whatever works for you, use it.

**: I also changed my style of writing dramatically for Nothing. It’s written first person present tense. This makes the pace a little breathless with a lot happening in each scene. It’s a Novella, so no one’s had a heart attack yet.
 

I hope this information will help all of you in your writing endeavors.
 

Thank you very much for inviting me Karen.

Barry Crowther
http://barrycrowther.com
 
 

No, thank you Barry Crowther!
 
Good to know that no one has had a heart attack yet!
 
 

So what do you think? Do you write Organically or are you a Plotter? What kind of books do you enjoy writing? Do you like Mystery and Suspense? Or do you prefer a little Romance? Perhaps you like to write for a younger audience, Children or YA. Or maybe non-fiction is your cup of tea.
 
 
If you enjoyed this, I encourage you to follow by email for future posts.

Thank you for your many thoughts and kind comments everyone!
Karen
 
 
 

A big shout out to Kristen Lamb and to all my new WANA classmates and friends. And a big thanks to all others that may grace my presence by visiting this post. Take care and make it a great day!

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