Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Kimberly A. Cook

Do You Have Writer Persistence?

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by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Cleaning out the papers in my office last weekend , a lifelong quest, I stumbled across my production worksheet for 2013. Very organized, all my writing projects listed, it was a plan. Unfortunately life intervened and not one of those projects got finished.

Persistence gets bulbs out of the ground to become flowers. Make like a bulb and bloom. Spring rocks!
Persistence gets bulbs out of the ground to become flowers. Make like a bulb and bloom. Spring rocks!

But, it does give me a head start on my 2014-2015 to do list! The cliché “life is what happens while you’re making plans” is a cliché because life does happen. The older I get the more I’ve learned to give myself a break, to put on my big girl shoes and keep moving. The universe does respond to action and it’s harder to hit a moving target, so serpentine! as my Drill Sergeant would say.

So it was with heartwarming glee that I read about an author who was rejected 111 times over nine years trying to get his fiction novel “The Lost Get-Back Boogie,” published. When it did get published, it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. See, it does happen. Persistence can pay off.

The author? James Lee Burke. A co-worker at the day job was reading his book, “In The Moon of Red Ponies.” I’m always spying on what people are reading; market research. She told me his words were “strung together like silk.” Now that makes me sit up and stare. What writer wouldn’t kill to have a reader describe their prose that way?

Needless to say, I will be getting a book or two of his to put in my read pile. Whenever I get a little blue about where my writing career is not going, these kind of success stories lift my spirits and make me keep chugging along. Am I doing this for the money? Hell no. I write because I must, pure and simple.

If I can entertain and educate along the way, that’s gravy. Maybe one day I too will be one of those 45-year overnight successes. It could happen! Be persistent with your writing dreams, they might come true. Surprise yourself.

Link:      http://jamesleeburke.com/about_the_author.html

Oregon Zoo Elephants Romp In Their New Digs

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by Kimberly A. Cook         (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Back to the Zoo! Recently the ladies of the Oregon Zoo elephant herd, with the lovely Miss Lily, got to check out part of their expanding space. This elephant size remodel is being done in stages and with help from the pachyderms.

Seems sample lots of sand were brought in and tested by the elephants to find their perfect brand. Turns out our Portland pachyderms prefer that fabulous sand used on golf courses on their tootsies and it drains the rain really well.

So far the girls and babies have checked the place over, but the real test will come next with Tusko and Packy, the big boys. Since the trainers say Tusko “breaks everything,” can’t wait to see if we’ve built it “Tusko Strong” or not.

Check out what the ladies did in their new digs and how they inspected their new play toys. Happy Quirky Friday!

Have You Pruned Your Writing Lately?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Last Friday we had a sunny day. Since the monsoons were rolling in Saturday, I jumped out into the yard first thing and pruned my roses. Since I’m not really sure what I’m doing, I’d looked at how the landscapers pruned my Mom’s roses. Pretty severe.

Rose bushes before the great prune-off .....
Rose bushes before the great prune-off …..

Hacking away at the poor bushes reminded me of editing. Like the time I threw out two-thirds of a fiction manuscript and started over. Painful but necessary. It got me to thinking of the top three edits writers need to make, but many times do not. I know these three because I have done them all and still do; then I have to self-prune my writing.

1. Back story overload: Because you know everything about your character from her favorite nail polish to her indigestion issues does not mean the reader needs to know it. We create our characters so we can react how our characters would react and know their motivations. DO NOT put every single item about your character in the book or the first chapter. Sprinkle observations and quirks throughout the manuscript to unfold layers of your heroine and let the reader get to bond with her. Do not overshare or for the younger set do not TMI. (Too much information!)

2. Research hurling: This is a close cousin to back story overload. Research hurling means the writer throws every single tidbit they discovered about the time period, horse carriages, leather harness, brass wax and currier combs into the story. Stop the madness! Pick important details which move the story forward or provide some scene setting but don’t slow down the story. If you get bored editing it, a reader will be comatose.

3. Starting before the action: Everybody does this, really. Then the good writers edit it out. The reader does not need to know exactly what year, political structure or cult history brought the hero to this point in his life – we need to know what is happening right now. Instead of explaining the entire history of the Reno Rodeo, how about starting with the hero trying to escape from the pounding hooves of the bull he’s been thrown from onto the dirt. Drop the history stuff in later as the story requires or if it is important to the character arc. If it doesn’t advance the story, don’t use it.

Self-editing is one of the hardest things to do for beginning writers and all writers. But the more times you edit, the better you become at letting your story free from the overgrowth of deadwood which doesn’t let it grow. Hopefully like my pruned rose bushes. Prune away!

Rose sticks afterwards. Stay tuned for June!
Rose sticks afterwards. Stay tuned for June!

It’s Cougar Triplet Time!

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Are these not the cutest guys on the planet? Besides the fabulous lion cubs we had at the Oregon Zoo, we also had three cougar cubs show up from a rescue. They are on their way to the East Coast  Tuesday to start their new lives – all together, two sisters and a brother.

I love a happy ending. Happy Quirky Friday!

Do We Really Need Every Social Media Platform?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Working at the day job last week an invite popped up from my sister to add her to my LinkedIn account. Since I don’t participate in LinkedIn for my day job, thought this a tad bit odd. Checked with her and she didn’t send it.

Travelocity Gnome is going to need more backup than the M&Ms kids to protect my digital footprint these days.
Travelocity Gnome is going to need more backup than the M&Ms kids to protect my digital footprint these days.

Either LinkedIn was prowling, there is another virus on LinkedIn or her computer, or yada yada yada. I am so tired of defending my digital social media space from viruses, hackers and spammers while I am trying to get real writing work done.

More than once I’ve thought of taking all my computers offline and keeping one dummy for surfing. I’d be safer unless the others were physically stolen. The only reason I got on Facebook and LinkedIn were for the writing biz for one and a volunteer job on the other.

I have several author/writing friends who use LinkedIn and like it. I, however, might be shutting it down. I don’t need a job right now and I can’t reply to anybody while I am trying to find time to write. Then I stumbled across this Wall Street Journal article about how they are going to have folks write for LinkedIn and be influencers, but only 500 or so, and they won’t be paid. Sounds like free content to me!

When I got on Facebook for the business I was immediately found by a ton of folks from high school outside my little clique; most I barely remembered! For us writers who need some safe space to create and write, it felt like Facebook was rustling through my lingerie drawer. Enough!

Between this blog, Twitter and my web site, I’m thinking that might be enough digital real estate for now. Maybe more than I need. Because in the end, writing and finding time to write come before marketing, really. It’s hard to sell a book that isn’t written or won’t be written this year or next. Get thee writing!

Link:     http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/02/19/linkedin-to-allow-all-users-to-post-articles/

Lost Any Nuts Lately?

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Been one of those crazy weeks where I can’t seem to find anything. Usually I put said item in a “safe place” and it is never seen again. Until I don’t need it anymore, that is, then it shows up.

It’s no secret I love cats, but there are some fabulous pooches out there too. This big guy is one of them. When all about you are losing their minds and can’t figure out where to store their nuts, this patient dog is a real pal.  When you can’t find something, frisk the dog! Happy Quirky Friday!