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Farley’s Friday: A Dog’s BFF or FFL?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley here,

Now I’d say I’m not a dog that’s good with words. I do better with hand signals, but I want a new term for BFF.

How can a dog have only one BFF? I have so many friends.

For instance, here’s my pal Tico. He loves to go snorkelling with his human, Dan. He’s a little too adventurous for me. I like to watch from shore.

Dan and Tico

“Don’t you know there are sharks in there?” I bark.

Tico swims farther out.

“What if Dan spears a fish and a shark arrives?” I bark.

Tico must have his ears turned off, because he’s not listening to me.

“TICO,” I howl my loudest.

Farley barking from shore

You can imagine me, barking from shore, my front paws lifting off the ground, water splashing around me. I glance at Kristina, but she just laughs. All she does is laugh when I think I’m being serious and she thinks I look silly.

Finally Tico gets a little too close to Dan, hits the flipper with his nose, startles himself and turns back to the beach.

He’s safe and I can relax.

Now back to my new term. FFL. Friend For Life. That means I can have more than one. Best does imply one, and who can have only one friend?

I’m adding Tico to my FFL list.

Woof Woof.

Mattina in the Bahamas

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

Emotions run full speed when life changes are on the way. Since we’ve put Mattina for sale, we’ve been very pleased with the response we’ve been getting. Gotta love social media for getting the word out there. Thanks to everyone who has shared, tweeted, or reposted my blog. The added visibility is a big help.

The added visibility also makes selling Mattina feel real for me, and I have to confess there is a little part of me that’s sad. But alas, new adventures await, and I’m excited about that too.

Mattina At Anchor

The Bahamas provide many  beautiful places to anchor, and there’s nothing like the clear blue water to entice a sailor to stay a while.

This is our fifth winter roaming the Bahamian islands and cays, and I’m still amazed at the beauty of the water.

Now I need to make the most of it and enjoy what’s on offer. Hence . . . time to go beach running.

Thanks for reading  . . .

Are Your Characters Likeable?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

Do you find this hard to answer?

I’ve been reading Elements of Fiction Writing by Orson Scott Card and am finding it helpful. It’s an in-depth book that is giving me a lot think about.

In real life, a person might only see the best in their friends and family and ignore the flaws. This can happen in fiction too. A writer might not notice if a character is annoying, whiny, obnoxious etc. But how to you judge your own characters?

One thing I like to do is put my writing away for a while, then when I re-read the scene I ask myself: do I like this character. I’m using like broadly, in the sense of am I interested? do I want to keep reading about them?

The other question to ask is: Does the character have a motive? And what is there strongest desire?

When I meet a person, again in real life, I tend to be interested in them if they are interested in something. When a person talks about their passion, the light goes on, the eyes sparkle, the voice trembles, the tempo picks up. This is what I try to do with a character.

There is so much written on this subject, so I thought I’d mention Elements of Fiction Writing in case you’re looking for tips by an expert.

Please share your thoughts, if you know of a good book on the subject of characters.

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: Dog Toys Can’t Be Replaced?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley here,

Did you know when you’re sailing the Exuma Islands there aren’t stores to buy dog toys?

Well, I found out the hard way.

I’m playing with my favourite toy, minding my own business having a good chew – and lots of squeaking by the toy, so I think it’s having fun too.

Farley Chewing Toy

Then, oh oh. The seam rips. All the stuffing comes out. I don’t know how that part happened. I seem to have blacked out. The toy is ruined.

I show Kristina and wag my tail to tell her it was an accident.

She smiles and says, ” Well that’s the last of the toys.”

“What? Last of the toys. Can’t you buy me a new one?” I bark.

She shakes her head sadly. “There are no stores here.”

I had the realization that we’re not in Canada anymore. The question is, should I chew Kristina’s flip flop instead?

Woof Woof

The Moon, The Tide, The Weather: Workout Schedule

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Keeping fit is a challenge, and sometimes nature dictates the schedule. While living in the islands, the moon, tide and weather all tell me when and how I can exercise.

On a full moon, with a high tide, the beach will be soft and make running, let’s say, unpleasant. The sand forces ankles and knees into odd angles.

With  no moon and high tide, the beach might be in better condition, so it’s worth a try.

No moon, low tide is the best time to run. The tide is out, the beach is wide and hard. Running barefoot is fantastic.

Beach running

If I can’t run, I like to swim laps.

Sunny days are best. I like to see what’s in the water around me and cloudy days make that difficult. I’ll admit I might be a little afraid of sharks. I figure if they can see me, they won’t be interested in me. If the water is dark or murky, a shark might mistake me for lunch. Wind and current also affect when I can swim. Too much of either, and it’s not longer fun.

Shark

If I can’t swim laps, I like to kayak.

Wind and current dictate when and where I can go. The height of the tide doesn’t really matter, and I don’t usually kayak at night (although I have and a full moon makes this fun), so the moon doesn’t often come into play.

Kayaking

If I can’t kayak, then I like to do beach yoga.

High tide makes the beach wet, so not a good time. Too much sun and it’s too hot. Clouds are good for this activity.

Beach Yoga

If I can’t do any of these, I sulk. Just kidding. I can always read, write, blog, walk the dog, or hang with friends. The only activity Farley, my soft-coated wheaten terrier, can’t do with me is swim laps. He does an awesome downward dog.

Happy New Year 🙂

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Tethered to a Sailboat

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Farley here.

You may think I look like I’m trying to hide, but what I’m trying to do is give my humans a message.

Usually if I look my cutest they give me what I want.

We’re underway and it’s windy. Twenty-five knots on the nose windy. Out comes my tether, and I know it’s about to get worse.

So here I am, not hiding, but looking cute.

Farley Tethered

Now, as I lay here with my head tucked under the step, my humans discuss the situation.

First, they decide to put a reef in the main. That helps a bit, and the boat settles down.

Then my ears perk up. I hear something good.

“We could turn around,” Kristina suggests.

“Hmmm,” Mathew responds.

Not the answer I’m looking for.

“You could spend the afternoon windsurfing,” Kristina says.

Now the grin on Mathew’s face tells me he likes the idea.

Kristina sweetens the deal. “I’ll make you lunch while you get your gear ready.”

And just like that, my humans tack, turn the sailboat north, and head to a lovely, lovely calm anchorage.

See, being cute does get a dog what he wants.

I hope all you dogs and cats out there had a good Christmas.

Woof Woof

Character Development

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Anyone else out there spending the holidays thinking about their characters in a novel instead of real people? A hazard of being a writer, I’m afraid.

Introducing new characters, especially if you are writing a series can be a challenge.

Do you ask yourself:

  • What did the character do before the start of the novel?
  • How did they enter the protagonists life?
  • What motivates them?

I find even if I ask these questions it’s not enough for build a well-rounded character.

I use Scrivener to write, and I add a section for scenes that happen before the novel starts. When introducing a new character I ask myself, what was the character doing one month before the novel started, 6 months before and sometimes well back into their youth. Then I write a scene from this time frame. Something dramatic that happened in their lives that changed them usually works. This helps to fill out the character and know them before the story has even started.

You don’t have to do this before you begin writing, sometimes I do this after the first draft. Once I discovered a character fit the criteria of a sociopath. After writing the first draft, then writing scenes that happened prior to the opening,  the sociopath opened up some interesting story lines. These, of course, found their way into the second draft.

For me, it’s not enough to ask questions about my characters, I need to write about them to understand them.

What about you?

Thanks for reading . . .

 

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaten Terrier and Kite Boarding

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here.

My life is so exciting, and sometimes that excitement seems to happen on the trampoline of my Lagoon 380 Catamaran.

I hear the roar of a kite coming close and I bolt from a deep sleep on the floor of the port cabin to fully alert in seconds. I know that noise.

This usually means a large, bird-like thing is chasing on of my humans.

I reach the tramp, looking left and right for the danger. It’s hard to hear through all this wind. My stomach is churning, my heart is racing.

And then, I can’t help myself. A bark explodes from my throat.

“Go faster,” I bark at Bruce. He’s the guy in trouble.

He zooms by our bow.

Farley and Kiting

“Look out. It’s coming!” I bark.

The silly man waves as he rips by.

Then, in a sudden move, Bruce turns around. Unlucky for him the flying creature turned with him.

“It’s still there,” I bark, sure in the knowledge Bruce can hear me and will speed up.

They keep going unit they are  out of sight. There’s nothing for me to do but to go back to my napping.

You’ll be happy to know I saw Bruce at dinner later, and he’s fine. I guess he outran the monster.

Woof Woof.