It Was Only A Glass Of Water . . .

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

I’ve had a bit of a setback this week.

Water, water everywhere . . .  and not where I want it to be. An innocent little glass of water and presto – no more Macbook.

If you’re reading my blog, you know I’m living on a sailboat and nowhere near a store or something as luxurious as a Mac store, so when I spilled a glass of water on my Mac it brought tears to my eyes.

I shut down, ripped out the battery and hoped for the best. Days later, I’m not having any luck.

After the terror subsided, I remembered I made a back up the day before (phew), and that my husband loves me. The second is a very important point. When I asked if I could have his computer for the rest of the season, he happily said yes. He would use the tablet. Again phew.

We have backup equipment on the boat for almost every part, and I’m very happy that this extended to a backup device for my Mac and an extra computer.

Now I just have to get used to the keyboard!

My message: don’t forget to backup your work.

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: Cold Front Happiness

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

Farley here.

I love a good cold front, but Jasper stole my stick. I want to run with it and he wants to pull at it. We both have lots of energy because it’s cold. So not cold really, but only seventy degrees instead of eighty.

stick

“Let go!” I bark.

“No way, dude,” Jasper barks back.

I get my teeth deep in the wood and pull hard.

“Yikes,” Jasper barks. “Where’d you go?”

I run behind a tree, dart to the side and behind a another tree, but whoa . . .

There he is, waiting to take my stick again.

“No. No. No,” I bark, but he gets it and takes off.

The chase is on. Gotta love this cold weather.

Woof Woof.

 

 

Cold Fronts In The Bahamas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

It’s not all sunshine and warmth in the Bahamas, although you might think it is when looking at the photos I post.

cold front

The clouds roll in, the temperature drops, and we have to get out the warm clothes. Then it’s time to switch from water activities to land activities and take the dogs hiking.

We don’t go in the water, but the dogs do. On this hike, Jasper, the springer spaniel, was stung by a spotted eagle ray. Really it was his own fault, since he picked it up. The ray escaped unhurt, but Jasper needed treatment, and I think it was painful.

But back to cold fronts, the wind clocks around so it can be hard to find a protected anchorage. When the trade winds blow and the wind comes from one direction, it’s easy to drop the hook in a safe place.

When the wind is going to come from more than one directions, most annoying at night, it’s more of a challenge to hide.  Sometimes we just have to suck it up and take the wind and waves, but usually we can tuck in and be mostly protected.

On the good side, rain can come with a cold front, and it’s a free boat wash for us.

Thanks for reading . . .

 

Writing: Speeding up a Scene

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

So you want to put your scene into overdrive? Here’s one way to work on it.

I recently read the opening scene in CJ Lyons’ Nerves of Steel. It’s a fast paced scene that takes the reader along for a bumpy ride.

I wanted to know what made this scene speed along like a comet crossing sky.

I reread the scene, looking at each word very carefully. And it seems to me, the verb choice drives the speed.

CJ Lyons uses action verbs. She doesn’t use uncommon verbs that take a reader out of the story, but she does use specific verbs representing movement.

Here are some of them:

  • Thundered
  • Chopping
  • Gusting
  • Tugged
  • Tore
  • Shredding
  • Ricocheting

You get the idea, so if you think your scene is slow, why not check the verbs and see if they are fast?

What do you do to make your scene rip?

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: My Doggie Eyes Communicate

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley here.

So this week my human is reading The Genius Of Dogs: How Dogs are smarter than you think.

Well I could have told her that. Kristina keeps reading me tidbits that I already know.

This is my best "fedd me" stare. How hungry to I look?
This is my best “feed me” stare. How hungry do I look?

Here’s what I do when I need to tell her something:

  • Tap on floor with my nails during the night if I need out. That seems to wake her up, but not my male human though. He sleeps through everything. If she won’t wake up I breathe in her face. First time I did that she seemed a bit startled. Humans don’t like to be woken up with someone breathing in their face I guess.
  • Whack my water boil against sliding glass door when I need water. Seems to really get her going at 3am.
  • Stare at cupboard, then at Kristina, then at cupboard where my treats are kept. She knows this means she should open the door and hand me a treat.
  • Give her my most intense stare when I’m hungry. I can even do this in a run by stare and she knows it’s my “feed me stare.”
  • Press the top of my head on the sliding glass door when I need outside quickly (if there’s an emergency – I don’t like to throw up inside.). Kristina wants me to bark in this case, but that’s too undignified for me. I’m not a barky kinda guy.
This is my "I'm not getting off the trampoline and you can't make me" roll.
This is my “I’m not getting off the trampoline and you can’t make me” roll.

I can even ask Kristina questions with just a look.

When we’re hiking, if I come to a place on the trail where I have to make a choice on direction, I look back at Kristina and she points, telling me where to go. I’m a big eye contact guy, but I do know words too.

If we come across strangers, I glance at Kristina. If she waves away from the people, I don’t approach them. If she says “okay” I run and greet them.

Kristina says her last dog was more word oriented, and that I do better with hand signals. Whatever . . . I’m still a genius.

How do you communicate with your humans?

Woof Woof.

Keeping Fit While Cruising: Swimming Laps

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

If you’re getting the feeling there are endless ways to keep fit while sailing around the Bahamas, you’re getting the right feeling. This week’s suggestion: Swimming laps.

It’s hard to take a photo of myself swimming laps, so I thought I’d show you the water I swim in.

Water

Things to consider:

The water temperature is around 73 degrees Fahrenheit, which can cool a body down, so I wear wetsuit shorts and a rash guard. I find a full wet suit too restrictive for swimming laps, and the rash guard prevents sunburn.

Since there are sharks in the area, I don’t swim at dawn, dusk or in murky water, and I don’t splash around as if I were a fish in distress.

I don’t wear anything shiny in case a barracuda is sharing my water space.

I either swim with a buddy or have a partner follow me in a kayak to reduce the risk of a dinghy hitting me.

Salt water is hard on the swim goggles, so I bring several pairs to last me the season.

It’s a great way to keep fit if we’re in an area that doesn’t have a beach good for running.

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: Shady Beaches?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Farley Here,

If you’ve been to a lot of beaches like I have, you may have noticed there’s not a lot of shade. I spent the day on a sand spit with my humans while they went windsurfing and kiting, and found it kind of hot. While I life guard most of the time, I do get to relax too.

My human loves me. She used her windsurfing board bag to make a shady spot for me. She uses the gear for sports, I use it for comfort.

Farley with Board Bag

I got to spend the day chasing kiters and windsurfers along the beach, and when I got tired, I retired to my special spot, had a drink and napped. I can’t be life guarding all day.

Woof Woof.

Keeping Fit While Cruising: Kayaking

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve been reading you may have noticed I like variety in exercise. There are so many ways to keep fit while sailing, and I intend to try as many way as I can.

Kayaking is one of my favourites. There are many types of kayaks. I chose mine because it was large enough for Farley, my wheaten terrier, to fit in. He sits in the cockpit, sort of half on my lap and half on the kayak floor. He adds an extra 42 pounds to the adventure, but I figure it’ll only make my arms stronger.

Kayaking Ladies

Other than keeping you fit, a kayak provides:

– a second car

– a way to have fun with you dog

– something to do while being social with your friends

– a vehicle to take you exploring

Let me know how you keep fit while living on your sailboat.

Thanks for reading . . .

Location, Location, Location: Details for a Manuscript

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Do you create your location first or do you write a scene first?

For a novel, I decide on the location before I start writing. My first three novels take place in a fictitious ski resort in British Columbia, Canada. The fourth novel takes place in the Bahamas. I chose the location first because I wanted to write about people who live in isolated places.

Some scenes dictate a location, but for others, I might write the scene and then chose a location. I keep track of locations in a spreadsheet. This helps me avoid using one place to often. Believe it or not, in a ski resort not everything happens on the mountain.

If I have a scene written and haven’t chosen a location, I do this by looking at the mood of the scene. Is is romantic, frightening, funny, awkward?  I think about where in my created world the scene will have the greatest impact. Then I add the details.

When reviewing a manuscript, I check for the empty stage syndrome. Did I get carried away with action or dialogue and not describe the location? If I did, I work on describing the location. Sometimes at this stage I drop a clue or a red herring based on location.

Do you decide on location first or write a scene first?

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: Dog Friends

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here.

Is it possible for a dog to have too many friends? No way.

I run free with Labs, Springer Spaniels, Jack Russels, mixed breeds, Poodles, Retrievers, and Australian Doodles. My best girlfriend is a mix of Pit Bull, German Sheppard and Coon Hound. Her name is Holly, and I go gaga every time I see her, but don’t tell Cali (Jack Russell), because she thinks she’s my girlfriend.

This is my best bud, Jasper. He’s crazy and always gets me into trouble. We were playing on the beach and look what happened to him.

Jasper

I’m the smart one, and I know I have to go for a swim before getting in the dinghy, especially if I look like Jasper does.

He makes a run for the dinghy.

“No, stop!” I bark.

“Are you kidding? They’ll make me get all wet if I stop,” he barks back.

“My alpha human is going to get mad. Don’t jump,” I bark.

Too late. He’s off and leaping. Sand is spraying everywhere. Kristina and Jasper’s human are laughing. Matt is trying to head him off, but alas, Matt missed him.

Into the air he flies, his toes touch the pontoon, and he lands in the bottom of the dinghy.

He turns and looks back at me. He’s laughing. “Matt’s not looking at you. Go for it,” he barks.

I whip around Matt’s leg, bound from the beach, and I’m in too.

Now if only we knew are to start the dinghy . . .

Woof Woof.