Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

amwriting

What’s Your Favorite Word Game?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Back from a quick mini-vacation to one of my favorite places, Sisters, Oregon. While hunting in a resale shop my friend dragged me into, I came across this treasure – a Yahtzee Word game. Now, my family is a big fan of Yahtzee, we always played it at the beach for New Year’s Eve while stuffing our faces with Chinese take out food.

My big score for $2, complete with all the parts!
My big score for $2, complete with all the parts!

But, I had no idea there was a Yahtzee word game. In these days of plug-in everything, it was fun to find a new old game with a familiar name. After we frisked the box to make sure it had all the parts, I ended up the big buyer with several other treasures added to the game purchase.

We got to talking about the games we played as kids and with family; like Chinese checkers and Go Fish, Tiddly Winks and fifty-two pick up stix. Ah, the good old days of a zillion parts to every game.

While I own three Scrabble sets, it’s never seemed all that fun to me, not sure why. I’m still a complete chess rookie, but ever hopeful. Heard about the Words with Friends app on folks phones, but I like the tactile sensation of moving pieces around – call me old school game girl.

With summer approaching and hopefully some fun down time for all, imagine what it would be like to unleash your inner old school gamer and replay some favorite games to treat your brain. It just might unleash fun and happy memories of the games you played and may want to share with new friends and family.

I remember the wicked Crazy 8 card games we used to get into while out camping with friends – too fun. Maybe you can stumble across an old favorite in a resale shop or online; there is a big market in collectible games now. (You can buy Tiddly Winks at www.fatbraintoys.com) But I’m good to go, I’ve got my Yahtzee Word game! What was your favorite game?

How Much Bad News Can Our Creativity Handle?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

(UPDATE: This post was written before the tragedy outside Oklahoma City. All the people of that great state are in our thoughts and prayers. We’ve got your back. Donate at www.redcross.org Today every American is Oklahoma Strong.)

When I’m going through a stressful time, I tend to be very careful about what I read, which music I listen to and what I watch on tv. We writers are influenced by everything in our world and sometimes the planet gets too pushy and freaks out our creative muse. That’s when it’s time for a crap curfew.

Very scary movie, as you can tell from the poster.
Very scary movie, as you can tell from the poster.

Don’t ask me how horror writers keep sane, or if they even are sane, but when the going gets tough I head for funny romance fiction, HGTV, the Food Network and my cable easy listening music channel without any commercials.  My muse needs good input to stay happy and creative. Positive brain food it might be called.

For folks who think it’s fun to get scared, more power to you. I still haven’t recovered from seeing the movie “Jaws” in the 1970s – amazing what I would do for a date. The Walt Disney movie “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” scared me as a kid. Maybe it still does today. Those of us with active imaginations do not need any help conjuring up weird things that go bump in the night; we’ve got a full-time freak-out factory in our heads with tons of odd characters running amok.

So how do we tame our internal jitters and not venture into the dark basement? Why do they always do that in the movies, by the way? Nothing good ever happens down there – where is Darwin’s theory of adapting when it comes to dark basements? But I digress. Give your muse a break when times get tense. Take your brain over to Animal Planet’s “Too Cute” show with kittens and puppies for recess.

The muse you save may be your own!

P.S. Link to first ten minutes of said scary movie below, don’t say I didn’t warn you! (You can actually watch the entire movie on YouTube. How odd.)

http://youtu.be/-VffXZ44_LQ

Are Reference Ebooks Cool Again In The Digital World?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                   (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Read a fascinating article in Publishers Weekly magazine about the changing world for reference writers and publishers. Seems the demise of the Oxford English Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica print editions did not spell the end of reference works, just the paper format.

Reference books are making gains online in the digital ebook revolution.
Reference books are making gains online in the digital ebook revolution.

The long and short of it is that non-fiction or reference writers need to cater their content delivery vehicle to the age and target market of their reader. Now this has always been true in publishing, but even more so now with the digital publishing revolution as it relates to reference works, which includes how to write books.

But some reference titles are still selling quite well in print, so as the saying goes, there is never just one answer to a publishing question. Some reference publishers are targeting parents of college students and the students themselves according to the article. So once again a niche market divides into smaller niches by need and age group.

For the non-fiction author this is another great source about markets to study and trends to watch when considering how to publish your how to or how not to book to readers. The article talks about the importance of libraries in the digital reference migration and how libraries have pushed the reference publishers to adapt to their needs as library users demand more online resources.

The only thing constant in publishing is change and right now we keep seeing the rise of the author and that readers are Queen. Take the time to consider the best way to have your non-fiction work meet your readers and do some research, you might be surprised!

Read the article here: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/new-titles/adult-announcements/article/56795-the-changing-world-of-reference-focus-on-reference-2012.html

Did You Get An Easy Bake Oven Or A Chatty Cathy Doll?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                    (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

A writer tells as much about themself by what they leave out of their writing as by what they include.  This point was driven home to me this past weekend while staffing a garage sale with my longtime buddy, Michelle. We’ve known each other since first grade so we remain friends because we have so much blackmail material on each other.

Christmas Moose Cookie Jar left over from the garage sale. Maybe I'll just bake cookies and keep him after all.
Christmas Moose Cookie Jar left over from the garage sale. Maybe I’ll just bake cookies and keep him after all.

The weather was great and we had a steady stream of customers Saturday morning until 12:55 p.m., then not one shopper for the rest of the day. When the weather gets above 80 degrees here in early May on a Oregon weekend,  people shop early and play in the sun in the afternoon. Standard operating procedure.

So Michelle and I had plenty of time to talk in between her family running in and out, the area kids checking out the sale, neighbors stopping by and the Slip and Slide water party going on across the street. “This reminds me of when we were kids during the summer,” she said. “Not a care in the world.”

We chatted about odd things we remembered. Michelle must have a 500 GB memory. She recalls the most embarrassing and odd facts about me, most I’ve forgotten on purpose. A retired teacher, she has an Android app in her head to categorize kids, people and memories.

I noted the Easy Bake Oven she’d had for sale for $5 when I dropped my items off Friday night to set up; it was gone when I arrived Saturday morning – neighbors getting in on the pre sale. I’d always wanted a pink Easy Bake Oven growing up and it must be why I prefer to bake instead of cook to this day. I did get my Chatty Cathy doll and I still have her, no garage sales in her future.

While we watched shoppers sift through our items for sale and talked about the details of our childhood, I knew there must be a million stories out there about gifts kids wished for and never got and the ones they wanted and received. Shades of “The Christmas Story” movie come to life. Got a gift never received Christmas, holiday or birthday memory? Write that story!

Then go find the toy on eBay and buy it for yourself. It’s never too late to fulfill childhood dreams, including becoming a writer.

Would You Make A Good Writer Spy?

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by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

One of the pieces of craft a writer needs to practice is the art of observation. By people and pet watching we get ideas, insights and entertainment, all for free. With the weather starting to get warmer, we are on the cusp of prime people watching season.

Stealth ducks hiding in plain sight next to my day job building.
Stealth ducks hiding in plain sight next to my day job building.

Walking into my day job building, there is a swale which holds run off rain water. Week before last a pair of ducks were swimming around in the pond six feet from the building. Day in and out I noticed most people didn’t realize the ducks were even there, hiding in plain sight every morning.

Outside my house the other day, a friend noticed a key was hanging from a tree branch. We figured out someone dropped their house key and with no identification and a Good Samaritan tied the lanyard around the tree to serve as a signal. How many great story ideas, characters or dialogue clips have we lost in the trees by not using our writer “Spidey” sense?

Eavesdropping dialogue gold mines for me are mass transit, lines at the grocery store, anyone on a cell phone in public, movie theaters before the movie starts and any sporting event. Malls are great too because not only do you see all kinds of people and outfits, you can snack and drink cocoa at the free viewing tables in the food court.

As a fiction writer I like to make up stories about the people I see, imagine what their “back stories” are and what their current mission might be. It’s a great way to exercise your mind and let your subconscious get some new input.

A piece on the radio recently talked about how doing chores or repetitive tasks can unleash your inner creativity. Great ideas come to me when gardening, washing dishes, in the shower and taking out the trash. Seems our grey matter needs a muse break too.

So it’s time for writer Spring training. Get ready to do chores and people watch. You too may discover some hidden drone ducks on a secret mission or a new mystery book series idea, hiding in plain sight. Get in shape now for writer summer RECON!

How De We Really See Ourselves And Others?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                      (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Writers build worlds, fantasies and complicated stories with people, places and animals. We use details to bring a location or emotional event alive. One way we build our characters is by describing their physical characteristics and values through their actions.

This past week I watched a video done by Dove which illustrates how we see ourselves as individuals and how others see us differently. This is a fascinating video clip. The forensic artist does an amazing job. He mentioned in another video clip on the DoveUnitedStates YouTube channel that he could tell when women didn’t like part of their appearance, they lightly touched on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk&feature=share&list=PL0BRaXBPJ6iZMJoRM9TFRc2Mq4d0KmKqZ

Watch this wonderful piece of work and see what you think. How we describe our characters and ourselves may not be how the world sees either of us. Women have a particular challenge with this with the fashion and advertising industries. What’s important is each writer’s and character’s heart. What do you think?