Cupid's Arrow Has Found Its Mark

Yes, it's official. The powers-that-be have proclaimed that Sioux can indeed do romance. (I'm sure when my husband sees me snoring and drooling, while sitting upright on the couch, at 7:30 at night, he might question that ruling.)

This past weekend I got word that my story, "Playing a Different Tune" will be published in Welkin Press' Cupid's Quiver. 

Since romance is such a foreign genre to me, I used some elements of reality. This year, I am taking violin lessons right alongside my third graders, much to the dismay joy of our violin teacher. 

I took our violin teacher, changed her to a man and made her Venezuelan (my teaching partner's husband is from Venezuela), transformed myself into a young teacher in her early thirties (sweet!),  and added some of the actual screw-ups that have happened to me during our lessons. It's a reality-romance mash-up.

What have you done or tried in order to make a story more realistic? Gary Paulsen once ate a fish eyeball in researching Hatchet and Brian's Winter. (He promptly threw it up, his sled dogs immediately gobbled it up, and that made him hurl once more. This is chronicled in his book Guts.)

I know my fellow WWWP, Linda O'Connell, also has a story that will appear in Cupid's Quiver. I've heard that Donna Volkenannt's story will be included as well. Are there any other blogging buddies who had stories accepted by Pat Smith? Give a shout out and give yourself a pat on the back. For at least Linda and me, it was an instance when writing out of our boxes paid off...

What I Did for the Muse

           Gary Paulsen is one of the most prolific authors around. He writes mostly books for kids in upper elementary/middle school. His most well-known book is probably Hatchet.  The novel is about a young boy who is on a small plane when the pilot has a heart attack and dies. Brian must land the plane and then figure out how to survive out in the wilderness (with mostly just a hatchet) until people figure out he's gone. (He's out there for a long time...It would be complicated to explain I actually don't remember why no one figured out he was missing for a while. But they didn't.)

       Gary, in real life, had a rough life. He slept on a mattress on the floor of his family's basement, he had to hunt (because he was fond of eating, and his parents didn't consistently provide him with food) and he even hunted and trapped so he could afford clothes and supplies for school. He grew to love the outdoors, and as an adult continues to have adventures in the wilderness, incuding running sled dogs for many years.  

        What is the point of this drivel? Come on! Get to it!

        As Gary was writing Hatchet, he had Brian go fishing, since Brian was starving. If a person is mildly hungry, they'll eat the Mrs.-Paul's-Captain-D's part of the fish we all eat. But, Paulsen asserted, if a person has been hungry for days, they will eat all of the fish. Even the eyeballs.

       Because he's a conscientious writer, Paulsen wanted to make sure he described the eating of the eyeballs in a way that would ring true. And what better way than to eat an eyeball?

         He was out with his sled dogs one day, went fishing, and popped one of the fish eyeballs into this mouth. It was so disgusting, he immediately threw up. One of this dogs was thrilled with this snack, and started gobbling up the vomit. That made Paulsen throw up all over again. 

           This story is in Paulsen's book Guts. In this memoir he tells of being attacked by a crazy moose, about the time he shot a deer and had to ride it home on his bicycle, and many more marvelous tales. It especially appeals to boys. But it's also a writer's book. There are several stories where the reader gets to get inside his head and examine his motivation. 

     

What would you be interested in experiencing in order to make your writing more realistic?