What? State of CA Finally Comes Through?

Surprise, surprise! After four months of waiting (7 months since the initial filing), the State finally approved the documents that will allow me to establish a Heaven's Wait business entity and open the little online store on HW's website. I hadn't asked for much . . . just to establish an LLC, so I could obtain a business license and open a bank account. I had done my part by filing in a timely manner and committing to the annual LLC tax. The State was the one that made the process drag on and on by failing to keep enough staff at the job of processing applications. I'll never understand the logic, considering the fact that business entity tax and sales tax income would be generated for the State if it simply processed applications in a timely manner.

Oh well, it's time to move on. Now I can take care of the other bureaucratic details and offer a few Heaven's Wait keepsake items to those who are interested. I've been away from the product development side of my project for so many months that I'll have to spend some time revisiting the items I've created, my marketing plan, and the operation of the website. Markets and technology have changed in those few months, and I need to reevaluate my position with them.

My characters are looking forward to their exposure to the real world. The Drippils, especially, are waiting in the wings to share their simple fun and silliness with the tiny earthly members of your family, while the Vowellans are eager to share their specialty goods with those of you who enjoy all things Heaven Wait.

Though I wasn't able to open the HW Store this past winter, as originally planned, I will get it up and running as soon as I possibly can. This turtle may plug along at a pace much slower than I'd like, but you must agree that my persistence prevails. Thanks for your continued interest.

Happy Holiday! And thanks to all who sacrificed for our country!

Favorites: Foods That Feed My Soul!

Have you been good about continuing your Lasting Story? Below, you will find suggestions for writing about the above subject.

Suggestions: Which foods are your very favorites at this moment in your life? Have any of them been favorites as long as you can remember? Are any of the foods new to your list? Did you find it necessary to acquire a taste for any of the foods that are now your favorites? Is there a food item that stands above the rest? Does it have special meaning attached to it? Is it your guilty pleasure? Tell the story of the foods that hold a special place in your life!

You may develop your own format for writing about this subject, or you may use the handy MS Word Lasting Story Template that lives within the Heaven's Wait website at http://www.heavenswait.com/WriteHW.html. It includes guidelines to help you write your stories in a consistent format and file them in an efficient manner.

Visit the Heaven's Wait website for the accumulated Lasting Story Write Guide at: http://www.heavenswait.com/WriteHW.html

To receive Lasting Story Writing Alerts, join the Heaven's Wait Email Alert List at: http://www.heavenswait.com/FormEmailList.aspx

Has this subject prompted a discussion between you and your family or friends? You are welcome to share your thoughts or conversations by commenting in one of two places:

1. Click on "Post a Comment" below this Lasting Story blog post. Note: If you would like to go back and comment on a previous post, click on Lasting Story under Subject Blogs in the upper right hand corner of this page. Then scroll down to the subject on which you wish to comment.

2. Facebook users, see Heaven's Wait's Page, http://www.facebook.com/heavenswait. Comment under the Status entry for this Lasting Story subject in the timeline. Scroll down to comment on previous subjects.

How Bad Should the Bad Guys Be?

As I plug along, writing tale after tale for Innocents, Book 2 of the Heaven's Wait! Tales from Vowella series, I realize that more than one type of bad guy is emerging from the stories and that each type has its unique value. Bad guys are good for stories because they promote tension and make story lines interesting. Before I started writing, I had never had reason to examine the many ways one can be bad. I now find I need to explore those options in order to make the stories work in an authentic way.

I clearly understand that a solid dose of fear stands at the core of most bad behavior. Except in rare cases, we all come into this world as innocent, trusting, authentic individuals. But our life experiences and choices chip away at that authenticity and give birth to fears. And we, in our bare humanness, must find ways to deal with our fears as best we can. For some individuals, being bad provides a solution to their dilemma.

As I write, I can make a story's characters show their bad sides by making them annoying, mean, or conniving. I can also step it up by making them evil, vicious, brutal, or without conscience. I can make a character's struggle with his fears an internal one, or I can make it external, which in turn affects the behaviors of others. If I choose to give a character a dark side, I need to identify the underlying fear that drives his behavior and work that fear into the overall story line.

I've realized that as long as the Vowellans live in their isolated valley of Vowella, the resident bad guys will know how to be bad only to a certain degree. But once they step beyond Vowella, and they will at some point, my options for introducing new characters with dark sides will increase dramatically. My job will be to figure out who they are as well as the depth to which they will carry out their badness. In the meantime, I must remember that Heaven's Wait lies between here and heaven, so there are barriers I will not cross when I determine how such characters should behave.

I must say I've been fortunate that my own personal experiences have not taught me a whole lot about being bad. But a wealth of examples abounds wherever I turn: in the news, books, movies, and TV. Those examples give birth to delicious ideas for characters' bad behaviors and ways to weave them into the Tales from Vowella. Who knew that this writer's unexpected journey would lead me to such exploration?

The First Thing I Remember in My Life

Let's continue writing your Lasting Story! Below, you will find suggestions for writing about the above subject.

Suggestions:
It's time to dig through all those cobwebs in your brain (even if you're a young person) to see if you can retrieve your very first memory. Chances are, that memory was a significant event in your life. For this writer, it was of standing in a hospital room next to the cribs of my newborn twin brother and sister when I was three years old. For my mom, it was of standing next to a young family friend for a picture taking session. She was dressed in an extra pair of his overalls because she had wet her pants just before the session. She was two at the time. She's 86 now.

Once you retrieve that memory, describe the feelings that arose from the incident and why you think it stayed with you all these years. Unless the story is traumatic in some way, share it with your loved ones. It adds one more fascinating fact that might otherwise have been overlooked to your overall legacy.


You may develop your own format for writing about this subject, or you may use the handy MS Word Lasting Story Template that lives within the Heaven's Wait website at http://www.heavenswait.com/WriteHW.html. It includes guidelines to help you write your stories in a consistent format and file them in an efficient manner.

Visit the Heaven's Wait website for the accumulated Lasting Story Write Guide at: http://www.heavenswait.com/WriteHW.html

To receive Lasting Story Writing Alerts, join the Heaven's Wait Email Alert List at: http://www.heavenswait.com/FormEmailList.aspx

Has this subject prompted a discussion between you and your family or friends? You are welcome to share your thoughts or conversations by commenting in one of two places:

1. Click on "Post a Comment" below this Lasting Story blog post. Note: If you would like to go back and comment on a previous post, click on Lasting Story under Subject Blogs in the upper right hand corner of this page. Then scroll down to the subject on which you wish to comment.

2. Facebook users, see Heaven's Wait's Page, http://www.facebook.com/heavenswait. Comment under the Status entry for this Lasting Story subject in the timeline. Scroll down to comment on previous subjects.

A Time for Garden Renewal

I took the past week off from writing in order to oversee the renovation of our backyard garden. Fifteen years after its initial landscaping, the garden was feeling quite weary, with plants choking from excess moss above ground and gnarly oak tree roots beneath the surface. The irrigation system was riddled with gopher chew holes and blown-off sprayers, both of which distributed water in haphazard fashion to all the wrong places. Pesky regional weeds were outshining the original plantings, and the soil was desperate for nutrients. In the midst of all of my creative endeavors, I had disappointed my own backyard with my lack of attention. It was calling out to me, "Mama, please help!"

We live in a quiet, lovely spot, just far enough away from the rest of the neighborhood to allow us a little peaceful seclusion. But I wasn't feeling the peace when, every time I looked outdoors, endless work was staring me down, in the form of hose repair, root removal, and the constant pursuit of rampant weeds. Instead, I found myself retreating to the vegetable garden on the eastern side of our lot (which last year suffered a major gopher invasion of its own).

The time had come for some renovation. Sometimes you simply have to call in the experts. I reached out to the creative woman who was one of the original landscape architects for our property, and she came to my rescue. Her vast knowledge of plants and her talented eye for color and texture were a breath of fresh air. She offered immediate ideas for renewal, as well as help with irrigation and nutrient issues. She inspired me to start loving my back garden again, and what a good feeling that was.

So now, new soil, new plantings, and new water distribution are in place. I spent the weekend adding spots of annual color and ridding the remaining nooks and crannies of weeds and litter. I was sticky, sweaty, bug-bitten, and dirty by the time I was done, but it felt so good to once again dig in the earth, hang with the creatures, and listen to the silence, which is actually a very loud chorus of nature's best. I'm back home where I belong, in my own backyard.

The Most Meaningful Gift I Ever Received

Let's continue writing your Lasting Story! Below, you will find suggestions for writing about the above subject.

Suggestions:
At some point during your life to date, has someone given you a gift that meant a great deal to you, that added significance to your life? Was it a physical gift? Was it in the form of a gesture, spoken words, time shared, a message or quote? Was it something that made you feel joy or gratitude? Or did it initially cause you pain that eventually led you to a better place? Talk about the gift. Talk about the person who gave it to you. And, most importantly, describe how the gift was meaningful to you.


You may develop your own format for writing about this subject, or you may use the handy MS Word Lasting Story Template that lives within the Heaven's Wait website at http://www.heavenswait.com/WriteHW.html. It includes guidelines to help you write your stories in a consistent format and file them in an efficient manner.

Visit the Heaven's Wait website for the accumulated Lasting Story Write Guide at: http://www.heavenswait.com/WriteHW.html

To receive Lasting Story Writing Alerts, join the Heaven's Wait Email Alert List at: http://www.heavenswait.com/FormEmailList.aspx

Has this subject prompted a discussion between you and your family or friends? You are welcome to share your thoughts or conversations by commenting in one of two places:

1. Click on "Post a Comment" below this Lasting Story blog post. Note: If you would like to go back and comment on a previous post, click on Lasting Story under Subject Blogs in the upper right hand corner of this page. Then scroll down to the subject on which you wish to comment.

2. Facebook users, see Heaven's Wait's Page, http://www.facebook.com/heavenswait. Comment under the Status entry for this Lasting Story subject in the timeline. Scroll down to comment on previous subjects.

Handling a Large Cast of Characters

As I weave the story for Book 2 of my Heaven's Wait! Tales from Vowella series, I am conscious of the fact that many new Vowellan characters will be introduced to the reading audience. On a few occasions, readers of R.J.'s Story have told me that they struggled to form relationships with the Vowellan characters because there were so many of them. Now that Book 2 has jumped thirty years in time, the population has grown significantly. The Vowellans are still comprised of five distinct clans, but within those clans, the characters from R.J.'s Story are now a generation older, and their offspring are also players in the evolving tales of Heaven's Wait.

I recently finished reading Clash of Kings, Book 2 in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. There are literally hundreds of characters woven into this series, and, in many cases, their names are their only reference. I'm sure the majority of the characters were strategically placed and that their significance will be revealed somewhere within the series. But when numerous lesser characters were listed, such as knights and commoners who were brought into a certain king's court and seemed to do no more than populate the stage, I found myself skimming over those lists and losing some context from those scenes as a result. Yet, Mr. Martin's stories work, so much so that they have been developed into a smash TV series. New characters walk on a scene with no introduction, and the story proceeds. My husband, who has yet to reads the books, constantly quizzes me about the characters and their relationships in Game of Thrones in order to keep up with the story. I am sometimes unable to answer his questions because the names were lost to me as I read. He says Game of Thrones is one of the most intriguing series he's seen where he often doesn't know what's going on because he doesn't know the identity of the characters.

Keeping all of this in mind, I want to make sure that as more and more characters are introduced into Vowella and the world of Heaven's Wait, I take the time to clarify their presence and give them enough personality so that readers are intrigued and curious enough to follow their journeys within the stories. Part of my fun in writing this series comes from being free to create as large a cast of characters as I please. But my challenge is to develop purposeful characters without making the scenes drag on too long and to weave them into the community, where they can impact the outcome of the stories. Wish me luck!

Note: I was glad to find that Clash of Kings included a lengthy appendix that listed all of the characters to date and their connection to the category/family/house under which they fell. I will most likely do the same at the end of Book 2.

Lasting Story: I'm Really Good At . . .

Let's continue writing your Lasting Story! Below, you will find suggestions for writing about the above subject.

Suggestions:
Go ahead! Admit it! No matter who you are, you have gifts (or flaws) you can't ignore. Maybe you have a good singing voice or an artistic hand; maybe you're good with words or making others smile; perhaps you have a natural sports agility or the consistent talent of running into doorknobs; perhaps you have an instinct for creating fabulous food or a knack for wearing mismatched socks. Record the admissions you are willing to share with others, those that show your strengths and those that show your human side. Have fun with your admissions, and allow yourself to take a lighthearted look at yourself. Paint a fun picture for others to enjoy, the picture as you see it!


You may develop your own format for writing about this subject, or you may use the handy MS Word Lasting Story Template that lives within the Heaven's Wait website at http://www.heavenswait.com/WriteHW.html. It includes guidelines to help you write your stories in a consistent format and file them in an efficient manner.

Visit the Heaven's Wait website for the accumulated Lasting Story Write Guide at: http://www.heavenswait.com/WriteHW.html

To receive Lasting Story Writing Alerts, join the Heaven's Wait Email Alert List at: http://www.heavenswait.com/FormEmailList.aspx

Has this subject prompted a discussion between you and your family or friends? You are welcome to share your thoughts or conversations by commenting in one of two places:

1. Click on "Post a Comment" below this Lasting Story blog post. Note: If you would like to go back and comment on a previous post, click on Lasting Story under Subject Blogs in the upper right hand corner of this page. Then scroll down to the subject on which you wish to comment.

2. Facebook users, see Heaven's Wait's Page, http://www.facebook.com/heavenswait. Comment under the Status entry for this Lasting Story subject in the timeline. Scroll down to comment on previous subjects.