Migrating: Hail and Farewell

I began this blog - knowing absolutely nothing about blogs - in 2007. I sat at my car dealership waiting on a car servicing, and opened my laptop and logged into Blogger for the first time. When asked for a name, I chose "Through The Wardrobe" because my first book love was THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. And, like Lucy, I felt that every time I opened a good book or my imagination I tumbled into a world I didn't want to leave.

But things change. I've been persuaded (it took a little arm-wrestle) to move my blogging over to my website. From there I can post all sorts of cool stuff. I can post a series (like I'm about to do) on any of my books...I can post findable author resources...I can continue to serve the community through interviews and guest posts...all the material will be indexable and right in one place.

However, I lose the wardrobe. I confess this makes me sad.

I'll be cross-posting here for at least 6 months while I figure it all out. So the wardrobe isn't closed yet. I encourage you to check out my website and the new material I'll be posting there in the next several months. I have a series of author help pages planned, a tour of 1906 San Francisco, a tour of the 1920s, and much more.

Please stay with me through this transition and I hope to make it worth your while. Thanks.

PS...Here's my first unique post on my new site - a way to write a synopsis. Enjoy!

Update: The Treadmill Desk in Month Three

It's been three months with my new treadmill desk, and I thought I'd update my experience.

I really love having the treadmill right behind my actual desk. It's only a couple of feet away, so I merely have to stand up and take a few steps and hop on. This is a big plus if you're thinking about getting one - ease of use and access. And there's always the guilt factor in seeing it, right there in the office, every day.

On the plus side:

• it's very easy to use. Get on and go. Once I'm walking I hardly know I am. Reading is especially good on the treadmill, and since I tend to read aloud a lot as I work, I am using it. 
• it's "free" exercise. We've had a real winter here (who hasn't this year?) and often I can't get to the gym because of snow or ice. Now I can hop on the treadmill and crank it up a bit and read while I actually burn some calories, in addition to my slow walks.

On the minus side:

• it's hard for me to walk and type, even at a slow pace. I can do it, but it's tricky and I tend to make a lot of errors.

That typing/walking issue is the only minus, and since I do a lot of reading of craft books, reading of other writing-related stuff, reading of other books, and reading of my work out loud, I'm really using the treadmill. Maybe not as much as I thought I would, but that's ok. Any walking is better than sitting all day long. And I'm hoping that the more I use it, the more I will.

So far this new desk has been a great addition to my work space and a bonus to my health.

Knit One, Purl Four: On Patience

After a hiatus of some years, I've recently taken up knitting again. It was one of those spur-of-the-moment things, looking in a shop window at all the brilliant yarn colors and thinking, well, why not? A small investment.

Plus, I really needed a way to disconnect.

Those who know me well know that I am not a patient person. I'm also something of a workaholic. I love writing and when I spend more than a couple of days away from it, I become very unhappy, anxious, fretful. I guess I’m a little compulsive about my work. I want to get the story out, put it on the page, open it to the world.

But much of writing requires patience. For one thing, the best stories are those with depth and nuance, and those things take time to craft. Like the best stews must simmer, the best writing needs to simmer both on the page and in the brain. Simmering requires time.

When I finish a draft, I’m impatient to get it out there, somewhere, but that’s a poor strategy, isn’t it? Yes, we all know how tempting it is to hit “send” way too soon. (It can be equally destructive to keep rewriting the same story over and over and over, but that’s a discussion for another post.) It takes time and distance – simmering – to recognize the flaws in a work.

One of my fingerless gloves...

Then there’s the whole legendary waiting game within the industry. Waiting to hear from an agent. Waiting to hear from an editor. Waiting for the marketing people to okay the project, waiting for the edits, waiting for the book to come out. Waiting for the artwork. Waiting for the reviews. Waiting for the sales. Waiting for the check. From novel idea to book in hand can take years.

So, knitting. I’ve discovered that knitting is very meditative. Anything I knit that is complicated requires counting, and at least a minimal attention to what’s occupying my hands. I can listen to something but it’s hard to carry on a conversation. Other voices in my head go quiet. Even my nagging little internal editor shuts up.

Now I know why so many authors I’ve met are knitters. As the brain goes quiet the subconscious wakes up, and the subconscious knits the next story thread, the next character, the next scene. While my hands are occupied with creating something tangible, my brain is occupied with the intangible.

Plus, I'm learning to slow down and become patient.

I’d love to hear from some fellow knitters – or, do you have another strategy for developing patience?

Walking! My Treadmill Desk

My Christmas present this year was something I’ve been thinking about ever since Jessica Dils, a fellow alum of Vermont College of Fine Arts, presented her graduate lecture in January 2010, and talked about treadmill desks.

I’d never heard of such a thing, but it sounded like a great idea. A writer’s sedentary lifestyle? Check. Difficulty getting to the gym some days? Check. Recipe for weight gain and other health issues? You got it. The idea of being able to move and write at the same time was very appealing.

Shortly following Jess’ lecture I was surprised to sense a movement afoot (!), with the appearance of articles on treadmill desks in both SCBWI (January 2011) and Romance Writers’ (April 2013) magazines.

All during that time friends began to blog about their tread-desks and report weight loss and increasing productivity. The final swing vote came from a persuasive article in The New Yorker in May 2013, and I decided that I’d save my pennies for the purchase of a tread-desk.

While I’m relatively new to the experiment, I couldn’t be happier. I'm writing this article on the treadmill now. Here are a few thoughts and tips in case you are curious.

After research and reading I decided to buy a complete adjustable desk/treadmill combination made for this purpose by LifeSpan. This is not an exercise treadmill; it can’t go faster than 4 miles an hour. It’s smaller and lighter weight than the one you find at the gym, and has fewer bells and whistles, although it’s pretty slick. And it doesn’t have arms, which would get in the way of the desk.

close-up of the desk and controls - very simple!

I chose the LifeSpan because they had great customer reviews, excellent warranty, and a decent price: $1500 including shipping for both desk and treadmill, plus the floor mat underneath. I could have purchased the treadmill alone for under $1000, but then I would have had to find or build a suitable high desk for my computer, and I’m not clever enough for that, and I’m not convinced it would have been much cheaper. I couldn’t convert my existing desk for a number of reasons.

I’m really pleased with this product that appears both well-made and is attractive enough to fit into our home, and requires only the occasional application of silicone.

However, if you are handy, you can probably purchase a second-hand treadmill and configure a desk and have the whole package for less than $500. Just make sure that the treadmill can go as slow as 1 mile per hour, and that you can adjust your desktop height because it won’t be perfect the first time out.

Here are a few other things I’m learning as I go:

• -     The first hour I walked I wore my usual shoes – leather slip-ons. I quickly discovered that I need to wear a better-cushioned walking shoe, so I keep a pair of supportive workout shoes next to the tread-desk for that purpose.
• -     Don’t try to work and walk at more than 1.5 miles per hour. I’m typing this at 1 mile per hour and that seems about right.
• -     I was so enthusiastic that I just jumped right on and walked for an hour. Although I get to the gym 5 times a week and am relatively fit, I was stiff and sore. This was different. Ease into it, and take breaks.
• -     I’m getting better at typing fast as I walk but it has taken me a few hours of practice. I need to keep my fingers closer to the keyboard to avoid constant errors.
• -     The rocking motion of walking/working is odd at first, but as I got back into my story I forgot where I was and pretty soon had written a couple of thousand words while walking 2 miles.
• -     My LifeSpan comes equipped with a Bluetooth-enabled fitness sensor, but the reviews on that software were poor and I’m a Mac user, so I haven’t bothered. Besides, my goal is just to get out of the chair more.
• -     I’m lucky with space but be sure to factor in that the treadmill must be plugged directly into a grounded wall socket – not a GFI nor an extension nor a surge protector – and comes with only a six foot cord.
• -     The same company produces a bike desk, so if for any reason you can pedal but walking is difficult, that is another option.

the entire treadmill-desk, right behind my sitting desk

I would say this is one heck of a great Christmas present. I’ll update on my experiences, especially if I lose those five pounds I seem to gain at this time of year!

Ring Out The Old

Some thoughts on the year just passing…

…for the first time in three years I did not launch a book…

…my first little non-fiction GET ORGANIZED is now in six languages and at least as many countries and still sells at an amazing rate…

…my second novel – my middle child, FORGIVEN – has gone out of print…

…but her sisters are selling well, with FAITHFUL in its third, maybe fourth, printing…

…I’ve parted company with my wonderful agent of eight years, amicably, but with great sadness…

…I have steadfast fans who write me beautiful notes, and I treasure them and their words…

…I have a critique circle of people gifted with keen insight and brutal honesty…

…I’m lucky to have the freedom to write every day in a place of perilous beauty…

…I’m writing projects that bring me such joy that there are days when it’s hard to stop working.

The writing life is refuge and terror, both. It is euphoria and heartbreak. I would not trade it for anything, though some years may be more euphoric, or more heartbreaking, than others.

I wish for you a rich and rewarding 2014 with as much euphoria as you can stand.

Busy, Busy, And Then Some

I love October. My very first published piece - a poem - was published in October. I was 8, and my poem ("October") appeared in the local newspaper. It wouldn't win me any awards, but I remember as if it was yesterday the joy I felt at seeing my name in print.

my "first" publication

Plus, October is visually a gorgeous month, and I love those first fires in the fireplace, those crisp cool nights, the first brush of snow on the peaks, the golden aspen and deep red cherry trees.

This October is crazy-busy. I have a ton of appearances. But I want to reflect a moment on what it means to be so busy.

It means I do connect with readers of all stripes. It means I might even make a deeper connection - encourage a young writer to continue, or pass on a piece of knowledge that helps a listener. It also means I don't have as much time as usual to write.

October snow with aspen

Yesterday at a school visit I was asked by a 7th grade student about my daily writing goals, and I answered, truthfully, that I try to aim for 2000 words or 10 pages each day. Under normal circumstances, that's no sweat for me. I write fast - I'm a "fat" writer in the jargon of one of my former teachers, Ellen Howard - and then I go back and edit like crazy. But this October it's proving to be difficult for me to reach any goals at all.

Now perhaps I should add that I have an additional distraction: my husband and I have a new puppy in the house, which is rather like having a toddler running around. Both a joy and a headache, and thank heavens he's cute.

And then there are some personal/professional distractions, the kind that call my dedication to my profession into question. No details here and now, but I have to square my shoulders and soldier on.

That's the key to being a professional author. Yes, I aim to create a steady stream of prose, some of it good and some not, but there are times when the distractions beyond my control. Those are the times when I revisit my dedication to and love for writing.

my new office assistant

For it all comes back to that: the writing. The stories. I must tell stories, and I will be writing until they have to pry the pen from my clenched fingers. Some days, some months, are better than others, but I know I'll be back in the mode of 2000 words/ten pages before much longer.

If you are having trouble with distractions - first weeks of school, kids, sports, preparations for the holidays (gah!) - I feel your pain. Don't lose heart; come back to the storytelling. That's what it's all about.

If you are in Helena, Montana, I'll be there October 24 as part of their Big Read this fall. Their book is THE GREAT GATSBY, and I'll be discussing "SIRENS In the Time of GATSBY" at the Lewis and Clark Library from 7-8:30PM.

On November 2, I'll be on a panel and giving a lecture at the Bozeman Children's Festival of the Book at the Bozeman Public Library.

Both will be fun events, and I hope to see you there.