Kristina Stanley

Farley’s Friday: A Wheaton Gets In Trouble

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley here,

If you’ve been reading, you know I’m a good dog. But don’t all dogs have issues once in a while?

I don’t beg. I don’t jump on people. I don’t bark often, okay I bark when I see a dolphin or a turtle. I also bark when Kristina goes swimming. So it’s a water thing with me.

Anyway, I’ve lost focus already because I don’t want to tell you I misbehaved. Kristina told me I had to since I only write good things about myself.

I was innocently digging in the mud when I spotted something bright yellow. Now, you say to yourself, at this point, I should have taken stock and chosen a different path forward.

Farley and Bag 1

Good thought, but not what happened. The next thing I know, I’m biting and tossing Kristina’s water proof camera bag. Not good, I know. I couldn’t seem to stop myself. Even with Kristina telling me to stop, I just couldn’t do it.

Farley and Bag 2

The best thing about my human is even when she’s not happy with me, she’s smiling at me. The worst I get is, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Not so talented with discipline, is she.

Woof Woof.

Scene Development

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Writing is an endless process of revisions and editing, at least for me. So how does a writer know when a scene if finished? I use a template, shown below, to make me ask myself some hard questions. Once I can fill in the blanks below, I feel like I have a working draft of a scene.

I also have templates for settings and a detailed spreadsheet to keep track or dates, when a character is introduced, weather, etc., but template below gives me a sense of whether the scene has done its job in the context of the novel.

My template keeps growing and changing with each novel, but here it is in it’s current format.

Beginning = Hook:

Middle = Development:

Climax = Disaster:

Action (Scene or Sequel):

What does POV Want:

Outcome if POV fails:

How Does Scene Move Plot Forward:

How Does Scene Builds on Previous Scene:

How Does Scene Leads to Next Scene:

What’s Happening Between Characters That’s Not Spelt Out:

Is Setting Best Place For Emotional Impact?

Do you have anything you could add to the template?  I like to add new items that I can think about.

Thanks for reading . . .

Farley’s Friday: Dogs and Sticks

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

Farley here,

You might remember, I live in Bahamas on a sailboat, and my human sadly explained to me that when I ruined a toy, she couldn’t buy more. Well, I fooled her.

Check out my FFL (Friend for Life), Tanga. She’s a fast little Australian Doodle.Very Cute. I kinda have a crush on her.  Her human, Ann, found us a new toy. We didn’t even have to go to a store. She pulled it right off a tree and threw it for us.

Tanga and Farley

Tanga is faster and gets to the stick first. I follow with the bump and twist and rip it from her jaws. I know, not nice, but hey, I’m a dog and can’t help myself.

Sometimes I can out manoeuvre her and get to the stick first, but usually I have to fight for it. She’s tougher than she looks.

Woof Woof

Rain in the Bahamas?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Rain doesn’t happen often in the Bahamas, at least while we’ve been here, but the skies can dump a large amount of water in a short period of time.

What do we do when that happens?

Sometimes, I’m caught out on the beach, usually running with Farley, but that’s okay. The rain is warm and often a welcome cool down during a work out.

Sometimes, we’re on board. Then we hide. The main salon windows mean we get at 360 degree view of the anchorage and can keep an eye out for moving boats. 

Our cockpit enclosure keeps us dry and warm, so we have an extra room if we want to be outside while the weather decides to soak us. 

Enclosure SB View

Mattina is for sale and we updated the photo gallery yesterday if you’d like to see more pictures.

Thanks for reading . . .

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.

Farley’s Friday: What? My Boat is For Sale

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Farley,

So I’m part of the pack right? Then how come I don’t get a vote when it comes to major life changes? See me looking like the captain. I think I look like I’m in charge and this is my boat.

Farley On Deck

But . . . I hear Kristina and Matt talking, and I bark, “Wait, I don’t want to leave the Bahamas.”

Kristina smiles at me the way she does when I’m not going to get my way. “Don’t worry, you get to stay with us.”

“Stay with you,” I bark. “I want you to stay with me in the Bahamas.”

“Whatever we end up doing, you’ll still be the centre of the universe,” Kristina says.

Now that’s more like it. I just want to know I’m the top priority in their lives. I don’t really care where we live as long as I get to run free everyday, I get fed yummy food, I get groomed, I get to play with other dogs, and I get to sleep on a cold, hard surface. Other than that, bring on the changes.

Woof Woof

FOR SALE: 2007 Lagoon 380 S2 Owner’s Version

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

2014 has arrived and it’s time for Matt and I to make some changes and move on to new adventures.

MATTINA has been sold to happy new owners.

Mattina Sailing

Mattina is fully equipped for extended live-aboard cruising. She is a fantastic owner’s version example of the Lagoon 380 S2, one of the most successful catamarans ever built. She’s fun, fast and comfortable to sail thanks to her easily managed sail plan.

Key equipment includes a 5.5kw genset, 15 gph water maker, SSB, radar, solar panels, 2kw inverter, liferaft, spinnaker, air conditioning, full cockpit enclosure, and a 10.5 ft AB dinghy with a 15hp Yamaha outboard.

Mattina has cruised the Bahamas the last 4 winters and has been laid up on the hard in Florida in the summers. All systems have been fully tested and maintained by experienced owners. Mattina is ready now for more adventures. She’s never been chartered, is Canadian registered and is currently in the Bahamas.

To find out about Mattina click on:

If you still want more . . . you can also search the blog for Lagoon 380 and you will find everything I’ve written about her.

Please send us an email if you would like to inquire further about Mattina.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

I don’t usually asks this of my readers, but if would be great if you could help spread the word and share this blog for me.

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