Author: Kristina Stanley

Farley’s Friday: Can a dog be a lifeguard?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley here.

I’m at the lake this week. That’s a cottage for eastern Canadians and a cabin for western Canadians, but to a dog it’s a place on the water.

Now humans are strange. They like to run, scream and jump off the end of the dock. See my concerned look?
Farley looking concerned

How am I not supposed to be excited about this? My humans tell me not to bark as they jump in.

Well, duh. Don’t they understand they can’t breathe under the water? I need to tell them.

“Stop,” I bark.

“Don’t jump,” I bark.

“No barking,” Kristina says and then like a crazy woman, she jumps in.

Well pardon me for caring. I chase her. And look what happens.

Farley Falling in Water

I don’t like swimming. Let me stress, “I DON’T LIKE SWIMMING.”

And yet, here I am chasing my humans. Kids, adults, they’re all nuts.

The things I do for love.

Woof Woof!

Scrivener and Scene Summaries

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Do you keep track of your scenes? Do you summarize what’s in a scene. I used to use a spreadsheet exclusively to do this until I discovered I can use Scrivener. (I still use a spreadsheet for a more complete list that I can sort.)

In Scrivener, for each scene I note:

  • Chapter Number
  • Name of Scene
  • Point of View
  • Point of Scene
  • Tension
  • Revelation
  • Hook – ask yourself: why would a reader keep reading?
  • Character introduction and description
  • Date and Time of Day
  • Scene Description
  • Scene Dependency
  • Other – anything I want to remember. This could be a scene I want to add later. A description that needs updating. Just little reminders I still have word to do.

How does this relate to Scrivener, you ask?

I created a template in Scrivener by copying the relevant cells from and Excel spreadsheet and pasting them into a newly created template in Scrivener.

Then for each scene I insert the template underneath and to the right of the scene so I have the template linked to each scene. As I review each scene, I fill out the template. If I can’t fill out a line then I know I have work to do.

You can choose to compile the scene template with your novel or leave it out. If I’m printing a draft version, I might print the scene template so I can work on paper for a while. If I’m compiling and I only want the novel, I unclick the Include-In-Compile button.

It’s fun to discover new techniques to work with. Always, always learning . . .

Do you have information you keep track of for each scene that helps you make the scene better?

Thanks for reading . . .

I wrote a blog with my review of the Scrivener software that might help…

Farley’s Friday: Wheaten Terrier Catches His Humans

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Farley here.

Dogs can learn. This I know for a fact. Last week my humans escaped, and I was left with temporary humans for the week. Although I had fun, I missed my peeps.

What did I learn?

Suspicious activity: Kristina puts clothes in something she calls a suitcase.

“Are you leaving me again?” I bark.

“Don’t worry, you’re coming with us,” she says.

Should I believe her?

Next suspicious activity: Matt carries the suitcase toward the van.

Huh? Last time that happened, away they went for the week.

“Open the door, “ I bark.

Matt opens the side door, puts the suitcase inside, and goes back into the house for another bag.

Silly man. I grab the opportunity and jump into the van. I look left, I look right and I assess the situation. They can easily pull me out of here. Now, remember I’m getting smarter and learning.

I jump into the front seat. The door is closed,, so there’s no way they can get me out.

Farley in Van

“Ha, ha,” I bark. “You have to take me now.” I’m not as confident as I sound, so I wiggle and look as cute as I can.

So did I get to go on the trip? I did, I did, I did 🙂

Woof Woof.

Farley’s Friday: One Lonely Wheaten Terrier

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Farley here.

“Woof Woof,” I bark at the window. “What happened?”

I knew my life had taken a dark turn by the time bedtime came and went. Sometimes my humans go out but never over night. Confused is an understatement.

“Come back,” I bark. But nothing happens. I slink up to the bedroom where my temporary humans are sleeping and flop beside their bed trying to make noise. Maybe they’ll wake up and tell me what’s going on.  Nope.

Day two of loneliness. I sit by the front door. If I can just catch sight of them, they’ll remember I’m here and come and get me.

Where oh where did my humans go?
Where oh where did my humans go?

Day three of loneliness. “Where are they?” I whine. My temporary humans just smile and tell me I’m okay. That Kristina and Matt will come back.

But when? I don’t get this time thing. And how is a dog supposed to get a good night sleep when his humans are out on the street somewhere. What if they need me? I stand guard at night, so who is guarding them now?

When I can barely stand the stress anymore, on day five the door opens and they arrive. I try to pretend I’m mad at them, but I can’t hold to it. I run and wiggle and jump all over them. Then I head to my favourite corner. Finally a guy can take a good nap.

Woof Woof.

 

2013 Arthur Ellis Awards – May 30, 2013

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

So you’re looking for something to read?

Want to read books by Canadians?

Want to read crime/mystery novels?

Then this list if for you.

The winners of the Arthur Ellis awards are:

Best First Novel

Simone St. James, The Haunting of Maddy Clare, NAL

Best Novel

Giles Blunt, Until the Night, Random House Canada

Best Novella

Lou Allin, Contingency Plan, Orca Books

Best Short Story

Yasuko Thanh, “Switch-blade Knife” in Floating Like the Dead, McClelland & Stewart

Best Nonfiction

Steve Lillebuen, The Devil’s Cinema: The Untold Story behind Mark Twitchell’s Kill Room, McClelland & Stewart

Best French Book

Mario Bolduc, La Nuit des albinos: Sur les traces de Max O’Brien, Libre Expression

Best Juvenile/YA Book

Shane Peacock, Becoming Holmes, Tundra Books

Best Unpublished First Novel, aka The Unhanged Arthur

Coleen Steele, Sins Revisited

Derrick Murdoch Award

Lyn Hamilton

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Terrier and a Cat

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley here. Woof Woof.

So what’s a dog like me doing with a cat?

I’m visiting a house that has a cat. The cat is crazy. I enter the room, she hisses and runs. Well what to humans expect me to do? Sit there and stay quiet. She’s challenged me. I run after her. If only I could catch her. But then what? I have no idea, but it sure is fun scrambling all over the house.

Cats

Sometimes she teases me. Above, she’s sitting on top of the kitchen wall staring into the bedroom at me. If only I could get to her. She knows I can’t climb like she can, so there she sits laughing at me.

But if a cat likes me, I’m happy to play nice. See . . . I have proof.

Farley and Cat 2009-07-19

I’m not evil. Really, I’m not. It’s the cat’s fault.

Woof Woof.

Writing a Series: Spreadsheet.

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Last week I wrote about writing a series and keeping track of details over several novels, and I was asked about my spreadsheet.

In Keeping Track of Scenes I described the spreadsheet I use for one novel.  It amazes me how much I’ve changed and adapted the spreadsheet as I learn to improve my process. I’ve also added Scrivener to my list of tools, but I still can’t do without a spreadsheet.

In addition to a spreadsheet per novel, I now have a spreadsheet for the series.

The first column of each sheet states which novel the info is for. Then I include the following sheets:

Characters

  • names (first and last in separate columns so I can sort by each and make sure none of the names are too similar)
  • relationships
  • ages
  • clothing styles
  • emotional issues and challenges
  • anything I think might be important for the next novel

(I use Scrivener for character history)

Locations

  • places used
  • local business and who own them
  • hours of operation for ski lifts or any other business that is in more than one novel.
  • brief description of place
  • important characteristics of place

Timelines

  • Dates of key events (important in later novel when referring to past)

Hope this helps.
Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: A dog goes fishing

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

Woof Woof, Farley here.

Is it just me or is fishing really fun?

I’ve been at the cottage for three days, and I’ve trained my alpha (That’s Matt by the way.)

“Come down here,” I bark. I glance at the boathouse and then at Matt.

Matt’s so smart he comes on command.

“Get the rod, get the rod, get the rod,” I bark.

Matt does as instructed.

Now, I do my dance. This really gets Matt laughing.

Put your left paw in, put your left paw out . . .
Put your left paw in, put your left paw out . . .

Every time I dance like this, he casts the lure and I bark.

If he catches something, I really go crazy. These alphas need a lot of praise. The more I praise him the more he’ll cast the lure.

Woof Woof.

Writing a Series

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 16 Comments

Keeping track of details in one novel can be an overwhelming task. My handy-dandy spreadsheet does the job for me.

But what happens when one novel becomes two and then two become three? And then you make a change in one . . . and it has to be updated in two and then three.

This is enough to drive a person crazy or at least keep them entertained or maybe keep them from sleeping. Who knows?

My solution. As always my spreadsheet. I have now added a new spreadsheet to my collection. I keep one spreadsheet per novel and have found an extra one for details that need to be remembered from one book to the next helps.

I can remember the big details, but what about the ones like an address, a description of a room, a character’s sibling.

Without a spreadsheet I am lost.

Any tips that might help me?

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: Dogs and Porcupines

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

Farley here.

Why am I trapped?

Trapped

My human, Kristina, is explaining to me the dangers of porcupines.

Like I don’t remember.

“If you don’t run up the hill, I’ll let you off leash,” Kristina says.

“Yah, Yah,” I bark and nod enthusiastically.

“You remember the vet?”

I shudder inside. What dog doesn’t remember the vet. Two years ago, I chased a porcupine up the hill behind our cottage. It stuck its head in a hole and left its whole body out for me to see. I don’t think porcupines are the smartest, but who am I to say, since I’m the one who ended up with quills in my face?

Kristina put the cone of shame over my head so I couldn’t bite at the quills and drove me to vet. The waiting room was full and everyone saw me wearing the cone. Very embarrassing.

The vet said she’d have to anaesthetize me and for Kristina to come back later that night.

I frantically looked from Kristina to the vet and then put on my most submissive pose. I held in the bark that wanted to burst out from me. The vet took me into a room without Kristina. Yikes. She said I was so good, yup that’s right – so good – that she was going to try to take out one quill without using anaesthetic. I sat calmly as she took them all out and Kristina got to take me home.

I bring my focus back to the present and run my paw over my nose to show Kristina I remember.

“You remember the pliers?” Kristina asks.

I groan and roll my head on the deck.

“I see you do,” she says.

Last year, I chased a porcupine again. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn’t.  Kristina didn’t take me to the vet. I knew it was going to be bad when I saw pliers in her hand and she said to Matt, “Hold him tight.”

They pulled out all the quills without the help of a vet. Kristina likes to learn these things for herself.

Now you have to remember I’m a dog. So today, I catch the scent of a porcupine and blast toward the hill. Kristina grabs for me and misses. Unlucky for me, Matt doesn’t miss. He catches my harness and drags me behind the gate.

Now I’m stuck. No running free for me.

“Why didn’t I listen?”

Woof Woof.