• About “The Salamander’s Quill”
  • Goals and Definitions
  • Copyright
  • Resources and Library
  • I Like What I Do Because…

The Salamander's Quill

~ We hunt the white whale, and we'll no be goin' back!

The Salamander's Quill

Tag Archives: writing

NaNoWriMo ’19

12 Saturday Oct 2019

Posted by André J. Powell in Gaming, NaNoWriMo, Observation, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Fantasy, NaNoWriMo, Right-brain, writing, Writing Goal, Writing struggles

          I have never been more busy and overwhelmed by work in my 29 years of teaching. 55-60 hours a week for a salary that contracts for 37.5 […and that’s all I’m going to say about that–I don’t want to be a pisser-and-moaner as I chose this career. Neither, however, do I want to pretend the situation is fair or equitable, so I’ve made my note, now back to the subject at hand!]. Still, despite the workload, I’m going to try my hand at NaNo once again. Three “wins,” as the NaNo gods like to say, and two losses, which they do not like to say, leave me with no illusions as to how hard it will be under present work conditions.
     As plans slowly swirl and simmer, rising from the cavernous depths of soul-crushing career sludge concerning plot-lines, characters, research, etc. (stop with the Beowulfian alliteration already–you’ve had your rant!), and I begin to take notes, a few observations need annotation.

Keep On Reading!

Outlining: What-If Exercises and Variants

10 Saturday Mar 2018

Posted by André J. Powell in Arenn's Sorrows, K.M.Weiland, Outlining, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

K.M.Weiland, Outline, writing, Writing Goal, Writing Plan

     It might be expected that N. and A. are in love. What if N. doesn’t love A. at all, but fearing that if he turns to K., she will lose access to the resources he represents, she sincerely tries to love him as he desires, but in the end just can’t—and though she saves her people and truly expresses her heart, she sets the great tragedy into motion (hell-if-I-know what that tragedy is yet!)?

Keep On Reading

I’ve Decided to Set Aside WIP 6.1

04 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by André J. Powell in Arenn's Sorrows, K.M.Weiland, Outlining, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

K.M.Weiland, Outline, writing, Writing Craft, Writing Goal, Writing Plan

Why I have stopped working on my present WIP
     Though I have written nearly 80k words worth of WIP6 rough draft and research to date, the plot and story presently feel more disjointed and awkward than I imagine a rough draft should. I have therefore called a halt to any further composition until I have put my story through some sort of structured filter (read outline) by which it can be examined for missing and/or misshapen features. What follows is my plan.

Keep On Reading

Realizations, Revelations & RPGs

15 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by André J. Powell in Gaming, Musing, Observation, Storytelling, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Fantasy, Role-playing games, rpg, Time, World-building, writing, Writing struggles

Realizations, Revelations & RPGs      Lately, I have had to process a personal revelation concerning a dear feature of my geek-centric life, something I had always believed was complimentary to, but which I now understand was in competition with, my creative writing.
     I love role-playing games (RPG). Though Dungeons & Dragons was published ’74 when I was 13, I didn’t play my first session until a couple of years later. While I have trouble remembering the exact date of that first game, I vividly remember the character I played—half-elf Torian Asgard—and the non-player characters (NPC) who were my companions—Sadar the cleric and Bluehelm the magic user—and the place we explored—the digs of Roghan the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown: Quasqueton! These two great heroes had driven off a barbarian invasion but had disappeared during an expedition against said horde, leaving their stronghold, Quasqueton, just waiting to be explored and its treasures plundered.
     I do not exaggerate when I say that first gaming experience was a nothing short of revelatory (thank you, Ken!). Having read Tolkien, Malory, Lewis and Howard during my pre-teen years, I yearned to have adventures like Frodo, Arthur, Lucy and Conan and from the first roll of the dice, I knew I’d found a way to scratch that itch. It truly felt like I’d discovered buried treasure.
     It didn’t take too long for the storyteller in me to demand space at the game table. I quickly assumed the mantle of Game Master (GM) and began weaving my own scenarios for a group of players who would become my brothers-in-arms and life-long friends. Though I left D&D behind in favor of more intuitive game-engines, for the last 40 years I have continued to play, destroying the minions of evil and amassing a body of story, mythology and history to rival the most prolific of literary heroes.
     Due to circumstances, however, and though the crew still gathers to talk geek as we have for decades, we can’t seem find time to regularly game any more. I’m not going into the politics of this situation, for they are a rough emotional sea of wild cinematic waves and whirling simulationist water-spouts. Suffice to say that a “perfect storm” brewed itself made of equal parts life, age and personality. I would rather do is relate a realization and discovery made about myself and my creative writing while in the midst of this gale.

     Due to this gaming short-circuit, I found myself in a creative vacuum and as a result easily irritated, dissatisfied and, without overstatement, a bit bitter. Without regular gaming, I turned to my work-in-progress (WIP) to fill the void (which at present exists within the context of Holly’s HTTS class). It seemed natural. If you don’t have creamer, you reach for the milk. I mean, was I not creating imaginary worlds, cultures and religions as I develop my WIP? Did not heroes romp about discovering, fighting, loving, betraying, exploring, etc. in similar fashion to gaming? Were there not dark sorceries to overcome, conflicts to resolve, and villains to defeat? I thought to myself: a good bout of creative writing would be my surrogate game session while the ship groaned ominously and I waited for the storm to sort itself out. Good enough and off I went, bummed about the loss of regular bone-rolling but thankful I had a creative shelter in the storm. And indeed; while it wasn’t the same as gaming, it was medicine for my queasy stomach and balm to my wounded creative humor. So, for the last few months I created characters, spun dialogue, developed conflicts, wove plots, done necessary WIP world building and, all in all, had a rather productive time of it.
     And that’s when it hit me…hit me, I say, like one of those looking-for-lost-glasses-oh-shit-they’re-on-my-face type realizations:

     Without a game to creatively develop and GM, I had directed more time and energy into my WIP. Without a game to regularly express myself and play, the desire to role-play had been somewhat assuaged by writing.

     To many this may seem a “Well, duh!” sort of moment. To me it was nearly as watershed as the advent of gaming itself. It made me lean back in my chair and blink. I had always known that prepping my game-world in anticipation of a GM session was a creative outlet, but up to this point I hadn’t fully realized how much I depended on it nor how much of my storytelling energy I devoted to it.
     I have long lamented that juggling the two has been difficult. I see now that far from complementing each other, they have been in competition much in the same way books and films compete for audience. Each mode of storytelling: books, film, rpgs, may have entertainment as a common goal, but they use different methods to do so and deliver different story experiences as a result. I think this is the main reason why those who read are invariably disappointed when their favorite book is adapted to film. It is also the reason that while gaming and fiction writing share some commonalities and even inform each other, they both demand time as a resource and as a result find themselves in competition.
     Though I would never exchange my years of gaming nor even now give it up—it is a very important social outlet and connection to my brothers, as well as, an enjoyable mode of storytelling—I now understand better the creativity-sink it can be and realize it is not a replacement for serious writing…no more than writing is a replacement for role-playing.
     Well, what to do? I plan to adapt to this new reality and learn to walk its rolling deck. I’ll not exacerbate gaming’s present illusiveness by wasting what time I have waiting for a second advent. I will embrace the situation as a mixed blessing and make the most of it by romping in my WIP’s land of dark sorceries and bright heroes. I have learned a valuable lesson: time and energy are finite. When the storm finally passes, and it will, I will strive to keep the weather-gage and maintain a more satisfying balance.

HTTS Sitrep 8, Part I: Writing Groups Scare Me, But I Want a Buddy

19 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by André J. Powell in HTTS, Musing, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

How To Think Sideways, Time, writing, Writing struggles

Positive ions, baby!

Positive ions, baby!

     Greetings, true-believer–whoever you might be (I can usually count on my brother to read my blog snot); I am not dead.
     I continue to soldier on with HTTS. I’m almost to Lesson 8’s homework and am eager to begin writing the first draft of my official HTTS WIP proper. Sitreps for 5, 6, and 7 will have to wait for now, but rest assured (who am I talking to?), I did complete them. Huzzah!
     Seven, however, threw me psychologically. I know these lessons are designed to be finished in a week, all things being equal, but that lesson was challenging, taking no less than five months…five months and eight days to be exact. The length of my response to the prep-work is what did it. I’m sure 38 pages of 10pt, single spaced reflection was not what Holly had in mind when she wrote the lesson, and which she obliquely warned against. It is, nonetheless, what happened to me. I’ll detail that rather cathartic experience and how I got through it later. In this missive, I’m going to give voice to one of my secret writing wishes: a writing-buddy…other than my writing totems and writing sound-track.
     At my age writing buddies are hard to find. Work, home and personal responsibilities are not illusionary or excuses; they are hard reality, and social opportunities wherein I might meet such a person conflict with that reality. That being said, I must confess to having been to only one such social gathering: a Nano’ write-in at the Queen Bean in ’12. There were three other writers there. One left almost as soon as I arrived. That left the organizer/leader, and one other writer who, God bless him, talked most of the time. He didn’t know me, so directed most of his banter at the leader, a gentle and understanding soul, whom he seemed to know. Maybe he was nervous, but at every pause he would bring up a book he’d read or banter on about his WIP–not a 30-word sentence, mind you, but a blow by blow commentary. At the time, it irritated me a bit. Don’t get me wrong, it was cool to meet a couple of locals, but the event was billed as a “Write-in.”
     In retrospect, I wonder if the poor guy wasn’t just looking for a buddy too. Maybe he needed to break the cocoon of silence and isolation we writers by virtue of our craft tend to work in. I mean seriously, I’m in my bedroom right now at my emergency writing desk, a common occurrence lately (why not in the awesome study-library down stairs I’ve written of before with its comfy chairs and 2,500+ volumes? That, sigh, is another story for another time), with my head-phones on; I might as well be in my own pocket universe.
     Dear Santa, I’d like a writing-buddy who is about where I am at: working full-time, home responsibilities, maybe a serious hobby to two, and a dream to write, a love of storytelling but with very little (nothing) published. This person would encourage me when my out-put was meager and challenge me when I began to wimp-out. I could be able to trust them not to steal my ideas and they would help me develop them without demanding copy-right. We would delight in knowing the other understood terms such as: rough-draft, revision, re-write, alpha-reader, proof-reader meant and be able to judge work…or NOT…accordingly. No “If I were you…” or “I think you should…” or “From my perspective…” without solicitation. They would have their own problems and challenges and look to me for support and encouragement. Above all, we would both understand how hard this thing we love is to do and would gather strength from each other because of that understanding.
     Sheesh! It sounds like I’m a teen again day-dreaming about the perfect spouse. Pathetic.
     There’s a local writing group in Modesto that meets once a month. The first meeting comes with a no-strings-attached invite: no sharing of work or critiquing required, just a look to see if the fit it right. Nice. Later, however, attendees are expected to upload material for members to critique prior to meets. And rightly so, I say, but two thoughts hold me back.
     First, from what I’ve read of their profiles only one or two of the 500+ members have published a novel. The vast majority are like me, un-published wannabes. As an unpublished wannabe, I can’t help but ask by what right of experience do I critique other writer’s work? I mean sure, I can tell when someone’s grammar and punctuation sucks or when they’ve made errors in POV, or tense, or voice, or misused some literary device (my students have been great for teaching me that), but as far as giving out sound advice concerning writing fiction, it’d be like the blind leading the blind. I mean really, WTF do I know save what I’ve heard on Writing Excuses and read in books?
     Second, because I’m an academic writing teacher, have read extensively about writing, and am working through Holly’s class, I know only too well where my writing is at in terms of stage and condition. All I have to do is wait a week and re-read what I’ve written and I can clearly see and hear the problems: “Puuuutrescence!” So, why in the world would I offer substandard writing for critique that I already know to be rough, flawed and broken…especially when I can see and address those flaws myself? It would be one thing to offer a manuscript for critique that I’d done everything I knew how to do to improve saying, “I’ve done all I can, but I know it needs work. Please help me see what I can’t” or “It’s coming along, but I’m not feeling it in this part of the story. Can anyone help me?” but to offer my rough-drafts, revisions or even my re-writes for critique seems, frankly, presumptuous of other folks’ time and not a little rude.
     It reminds me of my seniors who turn in Senior Portfolio Project assignments with hardly more than a cursory glance for mistakes knowing I’ll point them out, which they in turn correct and get full marks for from the Project Committee. I don’t mind if it’s a mistake they’ve truly missed, but what irritates the shit out of me is when they don’t proof for mistakes they could easily have found themselves if they’d taken the time to look. In essence they are too lazy to do a little proof-reading…just like a lot of wannabe writers who are in love with the romance of writing but not so much with the less fun realities of writing well.
     Oh, hell no; I’ll not be “…that guy.”
     I have a cadre of brothers who will most likely form the core of my beta-readers. They are intelligent, versed in my chosen genre and take well to instructions (as long as we’re not gaming; then, everyone’s a GM). What I wish for and want is a writing-brother-in-arms, who’s in the trench right beside me, as confused, hopeful and bemused as I am.
     Ah, well, until I meet one, I still have this blog…and the knowledge of thousands of wannabe writers out there are wishing for the same thing and getting it done without. Oh, and I can’t forget my writing totems and mojo. Can you dig the salt-crystal lamp my awesome mom gave me for Christmas? True magic, man, true magic.
     I’m sure there’s a neat metaphor in there for next time.

HTTS Sitrep 3: I Think, Therefore I Muse, Part II

26 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by André J. Powell in HTTS, Observation, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Holly Lisle, How To Think Sideways, writing, Writing struggles

Sunwolfe     When I was young, I thought I had a spirit-helper named Dirus.
     I pictured him as a gray wolf of great size, wisdom and strength. Though both a lone-entity and a pack member, I don’t ever recall the pack being a big part of our exchanges save only once—but of that, I’ll speak another time. Whenever I had a problem or felt a deep yearning for love, understanding or beauty, I would call him to my waking-dreams and we would talk. He was as honest as his teeth were razor sharp. He bit hard and his jaws were strong.
     He could shape-change from a wolf to an aged and glyph covered shaman or a scarred and proud warrior in his prime. When he changed, however, his head always remained that of a wolf.
     I wrote down many of our conversations and more than a few of our adventures. He brooked no fools and did not hesitate to let me know when he thought I was acting one or was wasting his time. His voice was as vivid in my head as someone at my ear and we spoke together clear until I was in my early 30s.
     Though he was a powerful entity and stood tall in my dreams, I sensed that behind him was a fragile truth, a secret, that should it ever come to light would somehow change things forever. I suspected I knew what it was but as long as I never said anything about it, never articulated the words, he would always be on call.
     When an important relationship ended in a traumatic breakup, it left me an emotional wreck. At a low point in my recovery, I mentally acknowledged the secret: that Dirus was really a composite made up by my conscious and unconscious mind from my mental, physical and emotional experiences and yearnings, that he was not real in the sense of an independent entity; he was a fantasy and in truth nothing more than…me.
     From that moment on, I rarely conjured the Great Wolf and our conversations ceased—he was a figment of my imagination, something I, my right-brain and left-brain, had made up.
     I know this might be upsetting to some, and in someways it upset me too, but deep down I knew where Dirus had come from, knew he was but a construct that my mind had cobbled together—a patchwork character using my experiences as a source. For example, during the early to mid ’60s, my father and my grandmother worked as counselors at Philco-Ford’s Employment Training Center in Madera, California for Native Americans. The corporation, no longer in business, was under contract with the BIA to offer vocational training to Native Americans. On occasion both he and my grandmother took me to work and I was fortunate enough to get to know some of the students there. Native peoples have a deep affection for children and the students took a shine to my sister and I. I was able to do and see things as a child that adults could not such as participate in dancing and singing, impromptu language lessons, eating amazing tacos and playing with their children. I believe my love of all things native and aboriginal had its origin there. When I turned nine, the BIA took direct control of the facility and my father felt the mismanagement was such he had to resign. Not long afterwards, the Center closed its doors. Though I was sad that I would no longer be able to attend Friday night sings, hear the cool stories or eat unci’s fry-bread, I’m glad to say that the memories have remained with me. It is in the stories told by those vocational students that the seeds of what would become Dirus were sewn.
     By the time I was a freshman or sophomore in high school, I was already labeled a day-dreamer and accused of “living in a fantasy world” by my peers. At the time I was hurt by the derision in their voices, but deep down I was happy to be considered a mutant who sang bad imitations of native chants, recited Tolkien’s poetry, read Conan adventures, dreamed of Bruce Lee and wrote bad short-stories rather than be counted among my peers as one of the many with only a drug induced haze or a hangover to show for the weekend. I reveled in being different and, as ever, retreated into reading whenever the drama became too much. With the legends the native students told me still in my heart, I bought a book called The Legend of Wolf Song by George Stone, which I still have and treasure. It tells the story of how wolves learned to sing and is the first place where Dirus makes an appearance as the protagonist’s god and helper. I so wanted to be like the main character “Wolf” and have Dirus as my mentor.
     It didn’t take long for the Great Wolf to emerge as a subject of my poetry and the mental counter-voice my mind conjured whenever I wrestled with the tough issues of growing up and needed someone, or something, I trusted to talk to. My imagination more than answered the call in Dirus.

     I miss Dirus. I miss his strength, his authority, his aboriginal connection to the truth, his native assurance of belonging, but I clearly understand that Dirus was not some visitor from the spirit plane, not an independent muse sent by the gods. He was me—a combination of my right and left brains and my experiences as a child and teen come to life in the fertile fields of my imagination. His power and ability to change my attitude, alter my physical reality, offer both damnation and salvation and truly change my world were, and are, products of me.
     I suppose this is why I am so uncomfortable with the idea that “my Muse” is somehow independent of my self. When it is referred to as “…your Muse and your You…”, I find it sets my teeth on edge like nails on a chalk board. I am me and my right-brain is me, as is my left-brain. I am the toy maker.
     I remember a John Milius interview in which the director of the Schwarzenegger Conan the Barbarian described Robert E. Howard writing the first Conan story in a panic with the Cimmerian hovering over his shoulder an ax held aloft ready to slay the author if he did not finish by dawn. A little research shows this story to be apocryphal, but it is a great illustration of how the romantic stereotype of the writer at the mercy of the muse or character is loved, embroidered and perpetuated. I suppose if it works, it works, but what drives me absolutely crazy is the copious amount of advice such stories generate that is more akin to how to become one with the Force than how to access the creative self.
     Left-brained folk, who have rarely had to fire up their right-brain neurons, are blown away when right-brainers tell stories of characters running away with the plot or how their muse Calliope became angry and took an extended holiday.
     I understand that the subconscious is remote and difficult to navigate, or even to define and describe in concrete terms, but such romanticism leaves left-brain folk wondering why their characters aren’t offering them direction, advice or running away with things; indeed, having a character run off “…with my story” is in some writing groups and forums almost a rite of passage or a badge of honor.
     No, I’m sorry. My characters do not go rogue; I do. I am responsible. If a character seems to be running away with the plot, then it is my responsibility to step away from the key-board or put the pen down. If I do this, it’s amazing how said rogue character can no longer commit another word to paper. I go mow the lawn, wash dishes, take a nap or switch WIP until things have calmed down, then I return. I completely understand how addictive the voices-inside-the-head can be. I am blessed with a very active right-brain and my characters come through loud and clear. I am also a teacher, however, and my left-brain skills are strong, but I am not subject to either side’s demands because in the end, I know it is me who chooses to follow the promptings of my right or left-brains not my characters.
     It is akin to the anthropomorphisization many pet owners subject their dogs and cats to. Don’t get me wrong, I love my pets and it never ceased to amaze me how my animals seemed to know what I was feeling and what I meant. My last cat and my last dog were seriously boon companions in this regard. I miss them as much, if not more, than I do my late father. I miss how my cat Greystoke seemed to know I was on my way home and was there on the front porch waiting for me no matter when I drove up. I miss how he would “converse” with me in various pitched meows when I told him about my day, my newest story idea or character concept. I miss how Callista stayed close and laid her huge head in my lap whenever I was depressed or sick, avoided me when I was tense, and knew just what to do to make me laugh. I am under no illusions, however, as much as my right-brain may play with the idea, that they were employing human emotions and observations, that they felt sorry or sympathized with me. No, they were animals and, as mine, keen observers of my behaviors, which they had down so well, it seemed like they knew what I was thinking before I thought it myself. For example, Callista noticed pending migraine symptoms long before I did and would paw at me like a service-dog. If I picked up on it, I could take my meds and blunt the headache’s pain when it came. If not, within a day, bam!, it was migraine-city and then I’d remember her pawing at me. Doh!
     No matter how I might subject her to personification Callista was, in the final analysis, a dog. This came strongly home when her cancer first showed up, and we had to have her diseased leg amputated. In a 135 pound dog this was not something undertaken lightly, especially as it involved a front leg. Would she be able to navigate? How mobile would she be? Considering her weight, how would it hamper recovery? The vet and I discussed many such considerations before the operation. I remember asking him if she might not become depressed and could that effect her recovery? He smiled and said that although he believed animals could become depressed, especially those who had lost a mate or human companion, he assured me that animals “…don’t think like us.”
     “We lose an appendage” he said, “and we’re not only scarred physically but emotionally as well. We wrestle with the mental demons of inferiority, weakness and imperfection. A dog is more likely to act as if nothing happened. They make adjustments because that’s what the moment dictates. If all goes well, we’ll have to hold her back because as soon as she can stand, she’s going to want to go for a walk, legless, stitches, staples, and scars notwithstanding. It’s all about what’s for dinner and are you ready to walk?—that will be her response.” And so it was.
     In the end, after a long and amazing battle with her disease (nearly two and a half years!), she died in my arms (30 pounds lighter—we had walked a lot :-)) a valued member of my family who can never ever be replaced, but nonetheless as the beloved dog she was, happy at being caressed by her human until the moment her huge heart stopped beating.
     Any anthropomorphic characteristics I might have imbued her with were nothing but mental constructs reflective of my own human needs and desires. Believing otherwise doesn’t necessarily hurt, but it does create a set of false responses and parameters that could have caused greater problems in myself.
     Characters running a muck in the playground of my mind, muddying my story and stealing lines? All mine, baby, me: constructs of my imagination, my muse, my brain, my responsibility.

     Does speaking of the right-brain in such terms hurt? I mean, so what if I want to call it a “she” or a “her” and name it Calliope? No. I don’t believe so, but neither do I believe it is okay to blame her for running off with the story or for writer’s block. Doing so creates a false perception that someone or something else is in charge, not me, and therefore my lack of accomplishment is somehow not my personal responsibility. It shields me from owning the problem and learning how to deal with it because to try and do so is paramount to admitting I am responsible and forces me to give up my romantic notions of a muse such as John Milius described. Instead of doing something about it, I sit and wait for lightning to strike or for my character to get with the program.
     This is one of the many reasons why I appreciate Holly’s course so much. She offers methods by which to understand the wild character and tools with which to make lightening strike. Though she refers to the right-brain as her Muse and the left as her “You” and her descriptions can get a bit squishy, the exercises and tools she offers are sound for bringing the two in concert and if applied with wholehearted focus and open minded flexibility, they can produce amazing results without any hocus-pocus or blood sacrifice–well, maybe a little blood :).
     Do they involve hard work? Oh, yes, but also hard play. Can it be frustrating? Of course it can, but what is worth having that isn’t also worth a little frustration? Can the process be a bit…illusive? Sometimes but usually due to my own shortcomings and learning curve. A bit mystical? No, I don’t think so—but there is room to believe so if I wish. Uncontrollable? To this I offer a resounding no! It’s about learning mental skills and control and the rules (which always change) but also about play and spontaneity and right-brain access. Impossible? Absolutely NOT.
     I make no claims that the above is the ultimate truth, only that it is my truth. Dirus was a powerful construct and I sometimes mourn deflating him of his power by admitting he was nothing more than a product of my imagination. On the other hand, I appreciate knowing just how powerful my imagination can be and feel blessed that I can tap that power in the creation of my literary characters. I enjoy that I might interact with them in a similar fashion and, hopefully, render them on paper as convincingly, but if not, either because they refuse perform or because of poor writing, it isn’t their fault or the Muse’s fault…it’s mine.

HTTS Sitrep 3: I Think, Therefore I Muse, Part I

13 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by André J. Powell in HTTS, Observation, Retrospection, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Holly Lisle, How To Think Sideways, writing

Nine Muses 225     Squishy and crunchy; right and left; designer and draftsman; creator and crafter; it’s all me.
     The hardest part of Lesson 3’s exercise was trying to do nothing that involved reading or heavy word-lifting while the right-brain was working. I did laundry, showered, played “Four-in-a-Row”, napped, meditated, listened to atmospheric lyric-less music, sketched, washed dishes, but of all the word neutral activities I tried, going for a walk or taking a driving were the most productive. Twice I used my Iphone’s “Voice Memos” app with good effect to record right-brain offerings and touch points—I plan to explore this option further. Twice I got lucky enough to find myself alone in the house and left to my own devices. I was able to think aloud without interruption or audience. These times proved the best for right-brain/left-brain communications and productivity.
     I noted a creative equilibrium that had to be maintained as I patiently tried to give my right-brain self time to graze the Sweet-Spot Map, chew thoughtfully on what it gathered there and then deliver an idea, yet at the same time keep my left-brain under control but not completely muzzled so as to allow it to accept or deny said ideas, and then gradually afford it more lead as further definition was required and let slip the leash completely when synthesis began to occur. This balance, for me, was critical to successfully calling down lightning.
     The point where the left-brain gradually turns from simply accepting or rejecting to requesting more defining information was a subtle one. Sometimes it happened without my noticing it. One moment my left-brain was giving ideas thumbs-up or thumbs-down and in the next asking “How can that work?” or “Where is this going?” and going even further as my right-brain self suddenly began offering more detailed answers.
     Though note-taking was discouraged, I must confess that my absolute best sessions occurred with a red pen in one hand, a blue pen in the other (metaphorically speaking of course, though I am somewhat ambidextrous) and a sheet of quadraliniar paper between them. Right-brain laid down its questions in red and left-brain responded in blue:yea-ing, nay-ing or maybe-ing. I found that this helped keep the left-brain in check as it enthusiastically tried to run with the possibilities right-brain offered up without allowing them to percolate. More than once I had to remind my eager left-brain self to calm down, speak softly, slowly, simply and allow my right-brain self the wiggle room it needed.
     Though I suffer from PERFECT, I am blessed that my left-brain self does not act so much the “inner-critic” (for which I am extremely thankful), as it does the experienced elder sibling ever ready to dispense advice and put everyone’s life in order. My left-brain was eager to start drafting plans even before my right-brain designer was finished conceptualizing the idea.
     Synthesis was more easily achieved than it was identified. One idea took nearly a whole week to bring to the surface, but once the Creator and the Crafter started slamming down details together and working in more or less sync, it was pretty obvious and entertaining.
     One thing I had to remind myself to do, and I don’t know if this was right or wrong, was to let go and stop worrying/refining an idea after synthesis: “…don’t expect [ideas] to be perfect or easily usable…” (bracket added by author for emphasis). I had to tell myself more than once that the exercise was not meant to produce a full-blown plot line complete with scene cards and denouement but simply a good idea with potential.
     I noted that the process had sped up by the time I landed my third idea. It took a quarter of the time my first idea required. Of course this could be dependent on a great many things from the need for sleep, to an unnoticed detail on the SSM, to finally uncovering a truly writer-self appealing idea. I suspect however, that my left and right-brains were learning how better to cooperate with each other. I wonder if trying to crank out three ideas a week wouldn’t be great training to take on for a month or so as good writing exercise.

HTTP Sitrep 2: Such a Waste

05 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by André J. Powell in HTTS, Observation, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Adventist school system, Holly Lisle, How To Think Sideways, Memories, writing, Writing struggles

Hater     It appears I am a hater and a holder of grudges even, I am ashamed to admit, against the dead.

     In my second go-round of the Sweet Spot Map (SSM) exercise, the “I hate…” portion populated itself all too quickly. Some of the items were good things to have an aversion for: injustice, religious intolerance, and mental, physical and emotional abuse, etc. I discovered other things against which I had set my anger and hate, however, less worthy things that left me alarmed and disturbed.
     As I allowed my right brain to express itself, the actions of five former high school teachers quickly added themselves to the “I hate…” page. I was mildly surprised at how fast the memories and emotions surfaced. I say “mildly” because I was no stranger to the memories having long ago wrestled with them while formulating my own teaching philosophy. What startled me was their visceral and evocative nature. 35 years notwithstanding, in a flash of memory and adrenaline, I was suddenly back in those classrooms, back in those embarrassing situations experiencing the frustration and impotent rage all over again.

     Some background is in order before I proceed. While we were not a regular church going family, whenever my mother, sister and I visited my grandparents, we attended with them. Doing anything with my grandma was always fun and I was in such hero-worshiping-awe of my grandfather that going anywhere with him was a treat. After years of witnessing their quiet conviction and genuine concern for others, their example has ever been the definition of what “living” one’s faith and true commitment means to me.
     When I was nine, my mother, who had dropped out of the Seventh-day Adventist faith when young, decided to start attending church again. She was soon re-baptized and my sister and I were enrolled in the local Adventist school. While I had some positive experiences and good times, I did not remain an Adventist but ceased regular attendance about a dozen years after my high school graduation and eventually withdrew completely. My disillusion with the Adventist religious system has many roots, but the tap root is firmly anchored in my high school experience and in the actions of the those five teachers.
     There was one teacher in particular whose name I had a hard time recalling. I could only remembered his surname’s initial probably because he was not one of my classroom teachers. I clearly remember the incident associated with him though.
     Students in the Adventist school system during the last half of the 70’s had to handle a ton of prohibitions. According to the powers that be, the devil was behind anything that was not directly connected to the religious system. Dancing, hand-holding, movies, non-christian books, competition sports, and bacon were high on the “no fly” list. Considering the era, and from a more experienced man’s viewpoint, I understand how such conservationism could have evolved. Kent State’s echo could still be heard; Watergate was a fairly recent memory and as a result, America had lost some of its confidence and deeply distrusted its leaders; indeed, it was during my freshman year that Saigon finally fell to the North Vietnamese. The legacy of the drug culture and free-love movement had left its mark in the dark rumor of AIDS gathering on the horizon. It’s no exaggeration to say that the country still feels reverberations of that time. As a consequence, leaders of many religious systems yearned for a simpler time when that “…old-time religion was good enough for…” all and the Adventists were no exception.

     But no where were these prohibitions more stringent than in reference to rock-music. One day toward the end of the year, a guitar-playing friend of mine and I, a drummer, decided to noodle with some tunes like Smokin’ on the Water and O’Black Water during lunch period while the faculty was up in the lounge eating lunch. My father, a non-Adventist, was an RV salesman by day and a bass playing musician by night. Though I wanted to play bagpipes (we’re Scottish on my mother’s side) my family couldn’t afford them, but I was indulged with a used set of drums as my second musical love. Now, we knew that playing at school would be frowned upon by the establishment but figured we’d be done by the time lunch was over. We’d play for 20 minutes or so, then load up the kits in our friend’s car with none the wiser. Being kids and rather naive, we didn’t take the rumor-mill into consideration and by the time we were setting up, a sizable crowd filled the gym eager for some music and when fully half the kids on a 175 student-campus disappear (closed campus), the faculty notices.
     Sure enough, about halfway through our second tune, the school band teacher appeared on stage—we were playing on the gym-floor. Like some bloody prophet making a pronouncement, he raised his hands and boomed out in a deep baritone,
     “If I were you, I’d stop right now. This is all I’m going to say: I would stop if I were you. You have been warned!”
     Typical teens, we stared at him like deer caught in the headlights and when he stepped back behind the curtain and we heard the door close, we, of course, promptly resumed playing. About five minutes later, Elder ‘C’, the principal, showed up with a face looking like thunder and shut us down by first running off the audience with threats of suspension and then threatening to dismantle my drum set himself if I didn’t do it first. As my friend stepped up to shut off the amplifier, he nervously—and unconsciously!–fingered a riff. The Elder came down like a hammer,
     “I said, turn that off! If you don’t want to be suspended, don’t defy me! Turn it off now!”
     The kid apologized and tried to explain it was just a nervous tick, but the Elder ignored him and acted like he’d been insulted.
     Under his stormy brows we grudgingly but quickly closed down our instruments and packed them out to the parking lot.
     I suppose we got off lightly because I don’t remember a phone call home and he probably could have confiscated our instruments for our parents to pick up later.

      So many things about this upset my teenage sense of fairness—things that have stuck with me to my adult present.
     More than anything, it was the hypocrisy of it all that made me feel as if my mouth had been filled with dust. Every week these same teachers in a mandatory-chapel touted how they were there to help us, to guide us, to become the people we dreamed of being because they loved and valued who we were. In reality, however, most of them were too busy trying to assert their authority and ignored the A-Number One Rule Of Working With Teens: as long as you’re genuine, you’ve got an in, but at the first scent of hypocrisy, you’ll be shut out forever. Both the band teacher and the Elder had claimed such sensitivities, but when it came down to it, they chose blind authority rather than the teachable moment.
     From my teenage point-of-view, the school administration had failed even earlier.
     A year before the above incident, the administration had officially endorsed a performance band in which I played drums. One of the interns had agreed to advise the band. We were heavily regulated with plenty of prohibitions on what we could or couldn’t play, but we were excited and worked hard practicing everyday and learning tunes.
     We were given permission to play at one banquet—the Adventist equivalent of a public school dance or prom wherein attendees dressed up, ate a parent catered meal then usually watched a sanctioned Disney flick (but only one deemed “devil-free” because even Walt had some questionable material like “Black Beard’s Ghost” and “Darby O’Gill and the Little People”!)–and absolutely no dancing involved. This time, instead of a film, we would perform. We played the mellowest of Bread, John Denver, Elton John and Barry Manilow. Our peers loved it and we all had a good time. Some of the Elders were less than enthusiastic, of course, but the fact that no one danced, sprouted horns or got pregnant during the whole time we played was indisputable.
     After the banquet, we were riding high on our success and looked forward to playing again, but…nothing came of it. Our adviser wouldn’t organize our next practice and kept putting us off. Without him we couldn’t use the gym or school facilities; indeed, he didn’t seem to want to talk to us about it at all. We went to the principal and asked for help, but were told that our adviser was tired and needed a rest, that we should stop pestering him and that the band had never been a long term proposition anyway. We were devastated. We felt we’d had our hopes lifted only to have them dashed. We had finally played music in a band…not a school band but a real band and now, we were old news and too much of a bother.
     Now, months later, here we were in the gym once again being brushed off and, this time quite literally, hustled out the door. I just didn’t understand how they could endorse playing music with one hand and then take it away with the other, especially considering we were not even remotely playing Ozzy, Black Sabbath or KISS tunes (“Knights In Satan’s Service” according to the Elders—what a crock) but here we were, nonetheless, being threatened with suspension anyway; indeed, if one looks at the Christian Rock scene of today, what we were trying to play was pablum by comparison and about as spiritually toxic as a wet-cracker. If the band teacher in question had only been willing to take a small risk and offered to show us some musical alternatives, we probably would have jumped at it because in the final analysis all we wanted to do was play and make music. Instead we were given proscription and admonition. So much for teachable moments.
     By the time the next year rolled around, I had ceased playing drums altogether and my friend did not return for his senior year. He talked his parents into letting him attend a public school were his love of music was encouraged rather than curtailed.
     The final “head-shaker” came about half a dozen years later when my old yearbook adviser, teacher and mentor (one of the very few instructors at that travesty of a school to warrant the appellation “teacher”) asked me to return to do some artwork for his book. I was blown away when I saw photos of kids holding hands, wearing fashions that would have violated a dozen earlier dress-code policies, and participating in competition sports with other christian schools. I was later told that the school band was now covering tunes in their present line up that had been banned only a few years earlier. Seeing the “what-the-hell-?” look on my face, my former adviser knew exactly what I was thinking and rattled off in his best Bob Dylan, “…the times they are a changin’…”. But not the hypocrisy I guess.

     What disturbed me most during the SSM exercise, however, wasn’t so much what happened or how it was so different from what I’d do as a teacher but how quickly the experience came to the surface as something “I hate…”. That and the realization that though I thought I had dealt with it and put it to rest, it had been lurking beneath the stagnant surface along with its fellows drawing who knows how much energy, emotion, and creativity down to muddy and fruitless death.
     As if to underscore the point, when I couldn’t recall the name of the band teacher, I phoned my sister. She promptly gave me his name. What brought me up short was when she mentioned that he had died in a car accident the same year I had returned to work on the yearbook.
     I hung up in stunned silence. He couldn’t have been more than 35 or 40. I remembered he had had a family, a wife and children. I suddenly felt a deep since of shame and embarrassment at having carried that anger and petty hate around for so long. From 1978 to 2015, for nearly 37 years, a corner of my creative mind had been devoted to my anger for this man, a man, who like myself, made human mistakes, but unlike me, would never have the luxury to unmake them. I saw my anger for the rapacious parasite that it was—a useless program running in the background, consuming life-force and sapping creative energy. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are things we must “…hate…” as suggested above, but this…this was nothing more than a leech-like petty indulgence that had brought about nothing good. What a travesty; what a waste! How much will never be done in my life because I have slavishly chained myself to this millstone? How many other chains have I, like Ebeneezer, forged for myself attached to the memories of the living and the dead?

     Holly’s method is initially big on self-examination and identifying problem areas which form roadblocks to a would be-writer’s career. Some of the exercises, like the SSM, are innocuous at first glance but pack a hidden punch when done honestly and with focus. I plan to use it for more than character motivations, details and story lines, but as a dark window to the soul. Through it, I hope I can identify and avoid those hidden and dreadful creatures that threaten my hopes and dreams.
     I want to apologize to any readers for being a bit vague about Holly’s course or methods. Considering that her course is how she makes her living, I want to respect that by not going detailing the wherefore’s of her lessons. Readers unfamiliar but interested should go to Holly’s site and research the course. Though the How to Think Sideways class is only offered annually, Holly has other excellent courses of writer-interest on everything from writing a novel series to editing that next draft to developing a ConLang for a particular setting.

HTTS Sitrep 1: The War Has Begun

18 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by André J. Powell in HTTS, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Holly Lisle, How To Think Sideways, teaching, writing

Battering Ram     Despite having done this lesson before, it was an up hill battle all the way.
     Since deciding to re-attempt Holly’s course, I have been beset by potential roadblock after roadblock. Friday the 13th , was appropriately the last day of 3rd quarter—only 48 more school days left, two months! Friday was also the cut off date for seniors to submit the paperwork portion of their senior-portfolios including letters of recommendation and some idiot teacher agreed to do more than his self-imposed limit of ten letters then promptly forgot about it. It came home to roost last week. Not only was I trying to administer final homework and projects—and correct them—but I was writing letters at top spead. I don’t use form-letters. I write real ones each taking about a ½ an hour or more. I inadvertently made an already busy after school even busier. Luckily, I had done half of them previously.
     On Monday there had been a mandatory after-school meeting with representatives of the District Office for those who had been “selected” to burn a week of vacation this year at the Model School’s Conference in Atlanta, GA.
     “A sign of your commitment to this effort will be the purchase of your own airline tickets—do this quickly before prices become too unreasonable. Reimbursement will soon follow…” What makes these guys think I’ve got a spare $600.00 for plane tickets regardless of reimbursement—I mean, hell, they know how much I make. They pay me!
     On Wednesday an all day visit by the county department of school’s ACCESS scholarship committee needed a teacher panel to interview. Guess who got “asked” to be on the panel? Yeppers….they called out the dinosaur. Suddenly I had to prep sub-plans for an extended block period. I do NOT simply say, “read pages 22-35 and answer the questions on page 37”. Any fool can do that. I’m a teacher, not a baby-sitter.
     Teaching seniors has its hazards and the helicopter parents were filling my email with confirmation and counseling requests because Jr. was not getting the grade mom and dad wanted for him—nor was he showing the minimum responsibility I’d like him too.
     Then there were the Tri-annual Review of progress and Present Levels of Performance forms that Resource required to be filled out…”ASAP…” complete with a review of strategies used in the classroom for those students in question. One even required me to connect my accommodations (those based on their recommendations) to State Standards—nothing like having your professional judgment questioned. If these are so damn important, how about a heads up: “…in three weeks Student X is up for his Tri-annual…”?
     And then there was the soft-lock down wherein students had to be moved to a cordoned-off section of the campus while a medical emergency was tended to.
     Oh, yes…did I mention Prom Committee, Student Council and Staff Collaboration meetings, tutoring the needy and a constitution writing consult with the officer of a new pan-high school club? One might wonder where preparing, delivering and cleaning-up after lessons comes in—you know, the thing I was hired to do? So do I, so do I 😦
     Sometimes I’d swear that site and D.O. administration conspire to come up with adjunct duties during quarter’s end and scramble to get grade books settled just to see how much more they can squeeze from us. I suppose I should be thankful that after 24+ years, I’m still light enough on my feet to do the dance, but as a result, I put in a week’s worth of (with the commute) 14 hour days.
     In my next life, I’m coming back as an art teacher—and that’s not a dig at the art department. Those crazy people work hard too, but their grading seems to go a lot quicker than it does for English teachers. I know that the amount of paper comes with the territory, but I must see a stack at least three feet tall every other week!
     What ever possessed me to choose Language Arts? Ah, yes, that must have been that love of literature and writing, which finally brings me around to the point: I did get the first lesson of HTTS done.

     Between work and dinner and sleep, a bagpipe lesson, minimal practice, a chapter or two of my latest read, loving but demanding relatives and a (now three week bout of Bronchitis that leaves my ribs sore and chest rattling) that keeps threatening to become something more sinister, I did it. It took me longer to do the lesson than I’d have hoped…about 10 days rather than a week, but I got it done!
     It might be worth noting how I approach the material. I know it’s too much effort for some, but it is a solid study for myself.
     First I d/l it all—and movies included—and then survey it all noting headings and parts after which I write up a table of contents and goals-and-objectives sheet. I then print lesson materials and place in their own labeled binder. When all is ready, I then read and annotate the lesson, with a highlighter in hand making notes and observations. After this I re-read the lesson while taking reading-notes in my note-book, recording the main points and then responding in note form. Finally I attempt the homework.
     I did not tackle the Quick Fix, the Walkthrough or the Hotseat portions of the lesson, all of which I have dealt with before on my first go round and will revisit in the future. One thing about Holly’s lessons is that they are packed with a serious amount of good solid material but considering the above, I think following Holly’s advice and concentrating on the main lesson is the best strategy for now.
     I did not get to the HTTS forum “First Writing Discussion” though I really wanted to so as to I feel part of the class. I may attempt to do so later on (the day of composition) if I can find time, but a stack of 150+ essays calls to me like a siren that won’t be denied and I’ll have to give them their due. Alas, that is the price paid for concentrating on Holly’s lesson: a Sunday spent grading papers rather than doing personals, convalescing or prepping Wednesdays blog-post.

     What do I want to accomplish with these blogged How To Think Sideways Sitreps? Not to be overly dramatic, but in a very real way, the hosts of Mordor surround the city and Grond is knocking at the gates. I believe, with all my heart, that I’m fighting a battle as grim as any described in the fantasy literature I love. It is a battle against time, my own weaknesses and the demands of a world I’ve created and must somehow recreate. Failure is not an option because I’m not sure I’d have the strength to rally once again. While the aim of the course is to help writers to a career in writing, that goal is so huge, it is too bright for me to contemplate right now. I cannot look into the sun. If I can simply and successfully complete each lesson, then I will consider it victory. What comes after will come.
     These Sitreps are then a battle report, a call to empty space to bear witness, a measure and method of self-accountability that I hope will fortify me to keep my grip and not let go as I have in the past. I will not blame circumstances any more: death in family, sickness, the demands of those without a clue. I am the captain of my fate. I am in charge. In the words of one of my literary characters,
     “The twin edged sword of responsibility means both that I can cut a path through the enemy as well as cut myself, but no matter which, it is I who wield the blade.”
     Sounds grim, doesn’t it…maybe overly dramatic? I know…but that’s because this is just about the most desperate and serious thing I have ever been moved to attempt and so much depends on it.

One Down…Lots To Go!

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by André J. Powell in Class Room, Writing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

frogs, teaching, Time, writing, Writing struggles

     I spent of yesterday doing chores about the house: lawn, dishes, laundry, etc. I also spent about five hours in a final push to “eat that frog” and finish editing a friend’s master’s thesis. This social contract has leveraged the most from my writing pursuits as it had to be done, for the most part, here at home. Any time I’ve had to spare that I did not work on it has been a guilty pleasure not only because he is a friend and I wanted to give him his money’s worth but also because he’s on a deadline to finish it and he paid me $250.00 to do it. I’m glad that, save for a few odd pages here and there, for the most part, it is done. Huzzah!
     Senior portfolios are next on the hit-list. Less a social contract and more a “…duties as assigned…” affair, it eats up a serious amount of writing energy. Each portfolio contains ten projects including three letters, a resume and a career-exploration essay which require serious evaluation—read: editing. I’ll not go into how poorly they’re written and how much time it takes to do them. Complaints get me no where. I just need to get them done and scored…which, unfortunately, means correcting their mistakes—and they are legion, in many cases failing them and returning them to their owners so they can fix them for a second round of grading wherein most pass (of course they have…I fixed all their bloody mistakes!) Whatever; the point is this week is going to be devoted to eating that frog and writing energy will be at a premium.
     In what spare time I have, I continue to hammer through my redeux of Holly Lisle’s “How to Think Sideways” Ultra course. I have done some exploring and writing in conjunction with that. It goes well. So far I find I am doing better than I did on my last attempt. I hope to keep it up and learn as much as I can. Her lessons and observations are useful and give me hope that this writing business is doable. I know however, know with the certainty of tomorrow’s sunrise, that unless I can carve out the time, ‘plant my flag’ so to speak, I will never write my books. If I don’t find the wherewithal to refuse certain family, career and social contracts AND maintain a disciplined writing routine, I’ll leave this life unfulfilled, with piles of notes and half finished manuscripts in my wake but nothing finished.
     Case in point, Prom in all it’s time-eating glory is pinking the school-horizon and from mid-April until May 11th, I will be working my tail off there too. Prom is no simple dance at my high school. It is a pageant on a Cecil B. Demille scale. Put on by the student council, it is a serious amount of work. Did I mention “…duties as assigned…” and who’s Student Council Co-advisor? Yeppers: that’d be me and those are my duties. There will be at least four post midnight work sessions in and around the 11th and very little writing will be done on the approach. Just thinking about it makes me tired.
     And, of course, I still need to prep lessons and deliver them and then clean up after them. Ah, the life of a teacher. Anyone who wants to be a writer and thinks that teaching is the way to go—all that extra time!—is fooling themselves, especially if they want to teach successfully as well as write. The sub route would have been smarter…too bad I love to teach 🙂
     Between portfolios and prom, however, is Easter Break. I don’t know about anyone else, but I hear choirs singing! I look forward to time to write and make significant inroads with HL’s lessons.
     On an amazingly happy note, one related to creativity, both a close friend (and author) and my brother started RPG sessions this weekend: a SW game and a RQ6 game and on Friday night I flew to, “…a galaxy far, far away…” and on Saturday sailed the seas of fate. A good time was had by all and a very much needed re-energizing took place.
     Ah, time waits for no man and duty calls. May the few who read this find the time and wherewithal to write and be creative. Beware you do not waste it!

← Older posts

A wanna-be writer and sometime poet trying to live, love and learn as much as I can with the time I have left.

Recent Posts

  • NaNoWriMo’19 Day 1: 1292
  • NaNoWriMo ’19
  • Outlining: What-If Exercises and Variants
  • I’ve Decided to Set Aside WIP 6.1
  • And now for a word of encouragement for Lanimage:

Archives

Categories

Artist blogs

  • Gracesidhe Decorator, writer, model and librarian!
  • Ravven's Glass Amazing wirter, artist and friend
  • Story Monster Storytelling at its finest–Heather’s site never fails to put a smile in my heart!

Blogroll

  • Magical Words A fantasy/scifi author group
  • Sword and Laser Online book club
  • The Office of Letters and Light NaNoWriMo parent organization
  • The Piper Who Came of Age Too Late My bagpiping blog
  • The Slootsian Dialectics Wizard and scholar-piper

Writer blogs

  • Ink-stained Daydreams The writing blog of Justin Beeman
  • Invisible Ink The fantasy and writing blog of Whitney Carter
  • Story and Somnomancy Writer, Good Friend and Ravenclaw princess

Writer Guru

  • Pocket Full of Words Holly Lisle: author and creator of How To Think Sideways

NaNoWriMo 2017

NaNoWriMo 2013

NaNoWriMo 2012

NaNoWriMo 2011

JulNoWriMo 2011

So Say We All

read the printed word!

Goodreads

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 61 other subscribers

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • The Salamander's Quill
    • Join 61 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Salamander's Quill
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...