Metamorphosis

met·a·mor·pho·sis

Kim Watters here. The other day I found what I thought were bird droppings on my lemon tree. That was until I realized they had eyes. What I'd really found were what are commonly known as orange dog caterpillars and they were eating my leaves and stripping entire branches bare. So, being the educational minded parent, I cut the caterpillars out of my tree and placed them in an aquarium so my kids can watch their metamorphosis.  Within a few days, they all formed their cocoons, and a few weeks later a Giant Swallowtail butterfly to emerged.

Metamorphosis:  Noun:

1. (in an insect or amphibian) The process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.
2. A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.

This is just another wonderful example of God's amazing power and how He continues to transform each and every one of us each day.

What have you witnessed lately?

The Bird Rescuer

Kim Watters here. The other day I was riding my bike, a real bike, not the stationary one that doubles as a purse and belt holder, enjoying the morning before the summer heat set in in Phoenix. As the slight breeze with a hint of refreshing coolness danced across my skin, and the enjoyable scent of night still lingered, I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye--a baby quail running along the curb trying to jump the concrete barrier to join his family.

Poor thing. Now keep in mind that I don’t particularly like birds—long story that stems from a childhood incident…but if I didn’t intervene, Junior was going to exhaust himself, get hit by a car, or eaten. None of his options looked good. I scanned the area looking for his family, but they were long gone. This is the reason quail have so many eggs at a time. Most of them don’t survive until adulthood. But they are so cute and fluffy as they form a line and trail between momma and papa bird.

So I had a choice to make. Intervene, catch the little bugger, and take him to the local bird lady to raise, or leave him where he was. Actually, there wasn’t a choice and I told him so. Let me tell you though, for such a small thing, this guy was quick, but determination finally won over exhaustion. Of course getting home on my bike riding one handed, worrying if the little guy or gal was going to peck at my hand, or escape, was a challenge.

So how does this relate to writing?

A lot. Well for one, I like to use real life stories in my writing, so don’t be surprised if this incident appears in an upcoming book. For another, it demonstrates overcoming fear.

A necessary thing if an author is going to make in the publishing world today. I was not going to let the baby quail die, so I had to overcome my fear of birds for a moment. I’d say this fear is similar to how I felt when I sent out my first manuscript to an editor. I eventually got over it, just as I got through the ride back to my house carrying the baby quail in my hand. He survived and so did I.

In fact, my third Love Inspired Book releases this month and got a 4.5 stars from Romantic Times.
 
And Father Makes Three


ISBN-13: 978-0373877560

“Your Daughter Needs You.”

She’s saved countless lives, yet there’s one person emergency room doctor Elizabeth Randall can’t rescue—her adopted daughter, Jordan. Perhaps meeting her biological father, Blake Crawford, will be the lifeline Jordan needs. The handsome, guarded firefighter takes risks every day. But facing the daughter he never knew—along with lovely Elizabeth—has him thinking about family. With fatherhood thrust suddenly upon him, there’s no way he can turn his back on his sick child. Will working together to give Jordan a second chance at life also lead them to a second chance at love?






 

Out of the mouths of babes......

Kim Watters here. The other day I was helping my son with an assignment. Yes, I know, but hey, he was on a deadline and I type much faster than he does. But being that kind of mom, I wouldn't do the assignment for him, just prompt him to do his own thinking. Anyway, the conversation went something like this:

"So, what's it called when you work for someone for free?"

"Slavery."

Okay. So not the answer I was looking for but he had a point. After I finished laughing and trying to clear the ater that I'd been drinking from my nose, I rephrased the question.

"Okay then. What's it called when you work for someone to learn something?"

"An apprentice."

You can tell he's into mystical things. "Okay, better. How about intern?"

This conversation got me to thinking about two things.

1) How important it is to ask the right questions.
2) How important each word we use is.

Because let's face it. The wrong questions can lead us and our characters down the wrong path, and we won't realize it until it's too late. How many times have you come up against a wall, that had you known which questions to ask or delved deeper into the character, you may have been able to avoid? Or had you rephrased it, may have gotten acompletely different answer?

Using the right word to convey a mood or feeling is intregral to the story. How may times have you been pulled out of a story because the author didn't use the right word or convey the right meaning? Or how many times you've used your favorite word or words until it's overdone?

I'm guilty of all of the above, which is why I never turn out a final manuscript the first time or even the second time around. One of these days, I hope to take my own advice.

So ask and choose wisely or you may be the one snorting water when you hear the answer.

Why do I do this?

Kim Watters here. Today I'm wordless. Absolutely, positivey wordless. Normally ideas spring forth quickly when I write a blog post. Not so today. Could it be that I'm struggling with my manuscript that's due at the end of the month? Yes. Could it be I'm overwhelmed by parenting right now with the start of school? Yes. Could it be that since I've returned from vacation, I'm really far behind on my day job that pays the bills? Yes to that, too.

So as I sit here struggling, I ask myself: Why do I do this? Why do I write and stress out each time a deadline looms? Why don't I chuck it all and just be a mom and an accountant because let's face it. I make a lot more money as a bean counter.

I have to remind myself that I'm a writer, too. And a writer writes. Like a mother mothers. Like an accountant accounts. (okay that didn't really make much sense.)

No worries though. I'll get through this like I always do. I'll quit whining and get back to the task at hand of finishing my contracted book because writing is a part of me. Who I am. My ministry. God gave me talent to put words to paper. He won't let me fail. I just have to kick it up a notch and sleep after I drop the envelope in the mail. Thanks for letting me whine. The other wine will be when I finish. :) Blessings.

Death and Taxes

Kim Watters here. Today I wanted to talk about death and taxes. Yes. That’s right.


“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

Thanks, Benjamin Franklin. True today as it was two centuries ago.

So how does this relate to writing? Interesting question. Well, sit back and grab a cup of coffee see if you can agree with me.

My daughter’s robo dwarf hamster died. Tragic, I know, but not completely unexpected for the two year old hamster. I knew by how Twister was acting a few days before that something wasn’t quite right and had tried as best I could to prepare my daughter. So on that fateful day when I went to feed Twister, I knew the inevitable had happened. Now I had to tell my daughter.

I cried as I held her trembling body, but this is a fact of life. We are born, live and die. I hate to tell you folks it’s inevitable. Some of us just hang around a bit longer than others and some species are just blessed with longer life spans. Between my two children, we’ve gone through 4 hamsters already; each one receiving a proper burial befitting their family status.

I think she recovered quicker than I did and is already talking about her next ‘best friend’. This time we adopted a cat. Two actually. Of course my son’s still alive and kicking hamster is throwing fits about that. Hmmmm. I wonder why?

Anyway, I must admit I kind of feel like a death has occurred when I finish a manuscript. I’ve spent so much time with the characters that once I’ve finished their story and have to say goodbye, it feels so final. I know it’s coming and I can only prolong it for so long. Deadlines, you know? But each time I type ‘The End’ a part of me has died; the relationship ended. The funeral takes place as I ship the package off to my editor. As authors, how do you feel? For you readers, what do you feel when you finish a book?

The other certainty in life is taxes. While that part isn’t quite so traumatic, it does leave my checkbook lighter. Because we’re considered self-employed, writers have to pay their own taxes, and Uncle Sam really likes it when we send in quarterly estimates to avoid penalties and interest come tax day.

So there you have it. Death and taxes from this writer’s perspective. Anyone else care to elaborate?

Organization: Gotta Love It.

Kim Watters here. After almost 19 years in the same house, I finally made the decision to move. Not an easy feat, but a necessary one. The house just wasn’t working out for our needs anymore. Do you have any idea how much stuff one can accumulate over that time period? Throw in a couple of kids and you’re looking at a mountain of stuff and a garage barely big enough to contain box after box of belongings I couldn’t part with; like the first had print my oldest child made in art when he was three, or my second child’s snippet of hair from her first haircut at a year old. And what do I do with all the old paperwork, royalty statements, contracts and such? Or the old costume jewelry I inherited from my grandmother? And-gasp-my book collection?

So many belongings, so little time to sort, and box, and label for storage. Because if I’m ever to find anything before I have a chance to unpack once I move into our newer, bigger home, I have to know where it is. You never know when you’ll have to glance through an old contract, or need to find a certain research book. I’ll be able to find it at moment’s notice and save time if I’m organized, right?

So how can you incorporate organizational skills into writing? Easily. Keep detailed spreadsheets for each manuscript. I do one for each character complete with a photograph of what they look like. One is for the all the character names, no matter how brief they appear, and how they relate to our main characters. I also keep track of local businesses and who owns them as they appear in the story and I keep a time line and an outline for each chapter along with page numbers and chapter lengths.

My newest release, Home Sweet Home, deals with renovating an old Victorian house, so I kept a chart on each room in the house and the progress of the renovations as they occurred. So each time I needed to refer back to something, it was easier to page through spreadsheets than the actual manuscript. I also created an ancestry line for my heroine to keep track of marriage, birth and death dates, which coincided with the building of the original house.

Since time is a premium for me, having everything I needed at my fingertips made me more productive with the minutes I had to write. I work full-time, have two elementary school kids and managed to write Home Sweet Home in under three months. Call me anal, but it works for me. It might just work for you, too.

Organization-A Necessary Evil

Kim Watters here. My son missed the bus the other morning. Okay, I know. It’s not the end of the world, but if I have to drive him to school, I’m going to be late for work. We never did find his YMCA card on our haste, but fortunately, they will let him into the after school center with just his name. Why didn’t I think of that before I sent him home from the bus stop to look for his card? Because I want to teach him responsibility. I’d asked him at least twice to make sure he had his card. But at what cost? My sanity? To top things off, it was a substitute bus driver who would definitely not wait at the bottom of our driveway so I could hustle my kid out the door and on his way.

So what’s a mom to do? I bundle my kid into the car and chase after the bus. That’s right. I’m going to catch the driver three stops away. It worked. I cut through the neighborhood and managed to wave frantically to the driver passing by on the main street, who probably thought I was some psycho lady. With him now in front of me as I turn onto the main street, I put on my lights hoping that I’ve managed to get through to him. It also helped that there were other parents at the next stop who told the driver to wait as I practically pushed my kid out the door.

He made it on the bus. I made it to work only a few minutes late. So where does that leave me? Determined to pass my pretty darned good organization skills on to my kids. If we’re organized, we save time, right? If everything is put back in its place we know where to find it when we’re looking for it. Like his house keys or YMCA card, his shoes, his schoolwork and a myriad of other possessions. Quite frankly, it’s exhausting trying to keep track of my own stuff as well as every other person in my family.

So how can you incorporate organizational skills into writing? Easily. How many times have you had to reread your manuscript to remember the neighbor’s husband’s name? Or what outfit our heroine was wearing last time we saw her? Or what type of stores lined your town’s main street?

I keep several detailed spreadsheets for each manuscript I write. One is for each character complete with a photograph of what they look like. One is for the all the character names, no matter how brief they appear, and how they relate to our main characters. I keep track of local businesses and who owns them as they appear in the story. I keep a time line and an outline for each chapter along with page numbers and chapter lengths.

My latest book which comes out in June dealt with renovating an old Victorian house so I kept a chart on each room in the house and the progress of the renovations as they occurred. So each time I needed to refer back to something, it was easier to page through spreadsheets than the actual manuscript. I also created an ancestry line for my heroine to keep track of marriage, birth and death dates, which coincided with the building of the original house.

Since time is a premium for me, having everything I needed at my fingertips made me more productive with the minutes I had to write. I work full-time, have two elementary school kids and managed to write the contracted book in under three months. Call me anal, but it works for me. It might just work for you, too.

Cures for a Sagging Middle

Kim Watters here. Okay, I’m depressed. You know, that mind numbing depression you face when you stare at that manuscript after you’ve ditched yet another pair of too-tight pants that are now lying in a pile on the floor. Finally I realize that I’ve hit that road bump of midlife, and in a writer’s life, I have a sagging middle.

How did this happen?

For my body, all it took was a few years at a desk job and a healthy appetite for sweets. For my book, all it took was a lack of conflict. Sigh. Okay so it took a bit longer for my body to decide to rebel than my characters, but still. I mean, come on. It didn’t have to happen this way but I have no excuse. No thyroid issues to blame it on. The blood tests came back normal. Nope. Just the daily inactivity of sitting in front of a keyboard and trying to achieve that happily-ever-after without an outline or game plan.

So after I slip on a pair of comfy sweats, I realize I need to take action. Real action. Like starting an exercise routine, or gasp, going on a diet. Fortunately for me, the sagging middle of the manuscript is going to be an easier task to face.

This one won’t require expending an enormous amount of energy or sweating from places I didn’t even know had sweat glands or snubbing that last spoonful of ice cream left in the scooper after I dish out some for the kids. Nope, fixing the manuscript is just going to involve massive amounts of brain energy and some more computer time, which is what got me in trouble in the first place. (We won’t talk about the chocolate, though.)

So if I need a workout, then maybe it’s time to put my characters through the wringer too.

While I’m out for a jog–I really don’t like to run,–I can mentally add a new dimension or depth to my characters and force them to grow and change by throwing another obstacle at them. If I can work hard at my goal, so can they.

While I’m doing stomach crunches, which I hate by the way, I can twist the plot into a different direction that forces my characters to make different choices. For me and my own plot direction with the dreaded diet, that might be whether or not I allow a piece of chocolate or a slice of French Silk Pie into my mouth or a stick of celery.

Or I can tape a picture of that skinny pair of pants to the front of the refrigerator, which would serve as a constant reminder of my goal and strengthen the conflict within just as I can strengthen the conflict between my characters by revisiting their goals and motivations.

I’m determined to get rid of both my sagging middles. So what’s stopping me? Nothing.

Watch out. That woman sprinting down the street with a picture dangling in front of her while she’s doing stomach crunches to boot is about to kill someone. Fortunately it’s only in her mind.