Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

amwriting

Here Comes Summer, So Dance!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Been trying my best to find the perfect summer video to share and then threw my hands in the air and went with a favorite. Back in simpler times when people went away to resorts for the summer, who were those people anyway, activities and dancing were part of the experience. The closest thing I did was be an aide at Camp Westwind on the Oregon Coast. It involved washing dishes and getting thrown in a feed trough by an albino pony. I learned macrame too, but no dancing.

So the best movie about those “times” for me will always be “Dirty Dancing.” With the amazing Patrick Swayze and wonderful Jennifer Grey, it is still a lifetime favorite. Summer starts tomorrow, so put on your dancing shoes and enjoy the sun! Happy Quirky Friday!

Writers Must Be Young Reader Book Pushers!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                        (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Read a wonderful article on Friday by Frank Bruni of the “The New York Times” about the importance of literacy in our nation and the disturbing pleasure reading figures for young adults. Seems the current digital natives are veering away from reading to plug-in and zone out even more than we thought.

Original keeper books from my salad days.
Original keeper books from my salad days.

It made me think of my book favorites from grade and middle school. I promptly went to the keeper shelf and gathered a few and took their picture.

Interesting to note what I read in my early years is what still drives me now; romance, mystery, suspense. Seems we might know what writers we are to become by what we read as children.

Kids not reading for pleasure is a huge issue. The article quoted a statistic from the Common Sense Media report that reading for pleasure has declined for ages 13 to 17. It goes on to say “Fewer than 20 percent of 17-year-olds now read for pleasure ‘almost every day.’

Whoa! I know teens are busy, but this is not good for many reasons. The article goes on to talk about the symbiotic link between reading and intelligence. Just like exercise the more you do it the fitter you become, body or brain.

It has never been more important for our youth to read for pleasure. This crusade does not belong to only the Young Adult authors, this is a mercenary business need for all writers. If we don’t make young adult readers, we won’t have adult readers!

It’s time to become a book pusher today!

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/13/opinion/bruni-read-kids-read.html?_r=0

 

 

 

What Type Are You?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                          (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Back in the ancient days, I was a business trainer for the federal government. Some of the fun things we did were take tests to know ourselves better and help teach others. Enjoyable tests, not the SATS or anything. One I really enjoyed was the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test.

We answered questions on a large form and then our results came back to tell us which of the 16 “types” we were. The great thing is there are no wrong answers and it explains a lot about group and family dynamics. Mine came back as an INFJ, which translates into a writer and emotional sponge. Always good to know.

Moon pic from last night since today is the Corn Planting Moon. What type of plant are you?
Moon pic from last night since today is the Corn Planting Moon. What type of plant are you?

One of the best books we used is “Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type” by Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger. Not only does this book help you for your own career choices, but it is a goldmine for information to use when creating characters.

The four letters specify if you are an Extrovert or Introvert, Sensing or Intuitive, Thinking or Feeling and Judging or Perceiving. When you get all the combinations possible, it ends up being sixteen.

Each personality type and their motivations are explained in a chapter in the book. Perfect for building fiction characters, figuring out yourself and your family. My sister had taken the test  at one time and we found out we were exact opposites except we both wanted to be in charge. That explained a lot about our childhood! There is usually always one type opposite from the other types in any given biological family. The cliché of a black sheep in the family might really mean a different type!

Learning about ourselves as writers and how we fit into the world is fascinating from a creative and personal standpoint. What type are you?

(P.S. I know I’m a day late posting, but the Trailblazers won Game 4 with their backs against the wall! Rip City!)

 

Do Feline Authors Have Plagiarism Issues?

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by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Many beginning writers worry about plagiarism, but it’s a pretty rare occurrence. However, Henri the Cat seems to be having a rather tough go of it in today’s publishing world. Even French cats living in the United States have to be careful when it comes to indie publishing.

Check out his story and see what you think. Happy Quirky Friday! Enjoy the weekend!

 

How Does The World Look With Purple Glasses?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                 (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Fuzzy. Picked up my two new pairs of glasses Friday, one trifocal and the bifocal pair for computer work. Finally figured I’d outsmart myself by getting the exact same frame, but different colors, so I wouldn’t have competing nose indent issues.

So. It seems this pair of trifocals takes a few days(?) to get used to. They told me not to use them to drive home. That didn’t bode well. My eyes always adjust pretty quickly to new lenses and even my first pair of trifocals many years ago. Well, it looks like that ease comes back to bite you eventually.

This is what purple and red glasses look like. Amazing I got this pic since I can't see without them!
This is what purple and red glasses look like. Amazing I got this pic since I can’t see without them!

Didn’t really think about the challenge of finally getting rid of nose pads means my glasses are not only new frames, they sit further out from my eyes. But these are also “new” progressive lenses since they discontinued the ones I had before. Sigh. Dratted upgrades.

As soon as the eye tech guy said they were the best “digital” lenses I knew I was screwed. Digital and I do not get along. So here it is three full days wearing new glasses and we are still getting used to each other.

Everything is going pretty well, but far distance is still an issue. That turned out to be rather entertaining trying to drive to the day job Monday morning. Good thing I know the route because the road signs are a bit fuzzy all of a sudden. Think I just need to give my eyeballs a chance to adjust, but I may have to take the right lens in for a re-check.

Which brings me back to the reason I got the new lenses, to reduce computer eyestrain. Since between the day job and writing at home, my peepers need good lenses and no strain, I get them checked every two years.

It’s amazing how a simple thing like trying to get new eyeglasses can make your entire world change. I seem to be setting my oatmeal bowl down pretty hard in the microwave these days and occasionally the floor moves without an earthquake.

When checking your writing equipment, don’t forget to be kind to your eyes. Get them checked to reduce muscle strain and help them help you in your writing career. Our writer eyes need the best equipment too!

 

Is The Writing Always Greener On The Other Writing Project?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

A funny thing happened last month, I started writing again. Not the non-fiction book stuck in the box in the corner, if you remember that project, but my fiction book. Then a weird thing happened.

I wrote the opening few pages of the sequel to the second fiction book in the series. Got it down on paper and out of my head, then went back to the first fiction book. Then another wacky thing occurred; I wrote the story climax of the first book out of sequence and then expanded on it.

Up close and personal with the apple crisp remains.
Up close and personal with the apple crisp remains.

Normally I write fiction straight through from beginning to end. I have a rough outline, plot points and my hero’s journey framework, then I write like a crazy woman. Not this time. I’m engrossed in getting the story climax correct, then will go back and fill in the gaping hole from past the halfway mark to the new writing. I know the ending, so I can then wrap the puppy up. Next I will have to hard edit the whole mess.

I wondered what it meant when the first pages of the second book arrived in my mind, then I figured it out; this first book is ready to be finished. When the next project calls like a siren from the sea, it can mean procrastination, avoidance of grunt work, or the first project is ready to be finished.

Do I have all the plot and action answers for the first book? Not in my conscious mind, but I’m pretty sure my subconscious is figuring it out. When I write, it will be there. This might be the place where I confess the first few pages of the third book in this series were written a couple of years ago.

That third book is going to be a challenge, so I was happy to turn that assignment back to my muse and let her chew on it for a while until I get to it. Speed is not the key in writing these books, staying true to the character’s stories and the series arc is the important focus.

Fiction is fun for me to write. This time it feels like my process is changing and I’m okay with this new adventure.

When I was deciding the Easter lunch menu for this past Sunday, I had a big debate about dessert. I settled on  making both apple crisp with maple nut ice cream and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Everyone decided to have a little of both.

Sometimes with both dessert and writing projects embracing variety is the true spice of life. We can get words down on paper so we don’t lose our new ideas and then go back to our first project. We don’t have to choose one or the other, but we do have to finish one. Then we get dessert!