Late August

 

As it stands, I don't have anything much to write about. Things are happening, good things, but they involve family, who I don't use in this blog (privacy for them). But it's been an interesting time for weather. The belated monsoons have arrived but with varying amounts of rain, depending on where someone lives in the Tucson valley. We got one with 3/4" of rain and another with just 1/10". The first had wonderful lightning strikes and much more rain elsewhere with some major damage. That's one thing about this desert valley, there can be a huge difference only a mile apart.

Even when the monsoons aren't producing big storms, their clouds are awesome as they slide by us to other areas. Predicting what they will do is a challenge even for the meteorologists. I was just glad no fires from those bolts. I'd have tried for a photo, as so many strikes, but sometimes a person has to just enjoy as photos of lightning are hard to get in my experience.

 

The barrel cactus are blooming, which makes for a lot of color as its the last cactus to bloom for the season. If we happen to be here, we enjoy this show. This year we saw a lot of new ones starting out in other areas; so good for the future.

The following pictures are what I have for now. Beauty is the desert.

 

 

More on writing coming up. I am doing a lot of editing, but there is that book I began before the pandemic hit us. I have more of an idea what comes next :) And there are the eight Arizona historical romances where we still need to write blurbs. Ugh on blubs, as bad as a synopsis-- no, worse!

Back to editing... such fun lol

 

 In writing for publication, the reader has to be taken into account-- whether it's a blog, story, or book. The author desires to write their story and that's the most powerful part of the initial draft-- at least in my case. I try to get the grammar right at the same time, but not at the point of losing my flow. 

Then, comes editing... Although writers could send their manuscripts off to a professional editor right away, most go through many edits before doing that. After all, they are the main ones to know the theme they are trying to portray. 

When editing, it's not just about possible typos or misspelled words, missing commas, etc., but also what readers will find disrupting to their experience with their own flow of reading.

Here's where trouble starts with words we typically misuse when speaking; but when written down, they become more obnoxious to a future reader-- especially readers of the anal sort, who know all about the English language as it should be. Catching those things before that reader does might avoid a review that says-- needs more editing. Well, for the writer, those who read reviews (many choose not to do so), the question has to be what did they find that annoyed them? Maybe a split infinitive that we might often have in our speaking but woe unto the book where it's found by those distracted by that exact detail.

There are words that I often will try to find a different word to avoid because I don't want to have to look up and figure out which version is right for that sentence. There are words that I pretty much always know the correct version, but know very well that when I am talking to a friend, I might use the word wrong. They don't care and neither do I as it's not written down.

The program Grammarly is useful for some of this but with books not so much. It can only go over so much text, certainly not a book where the writer intends it to go to say 100,000 words. That requires breaking writing into sections, which is disruptive for me in terms of creative flow.

The English language is full of words that can be taken two ways but spelled the same. Working a crossword puzzle is a good reminder of that. 

So, I thought I'd mention one word that often makes me stop and think when I am using it--- and feel I must use it. Lie or Lay, present tense, and all their past tense and .future/past perfect tenses. That's where lie and lay get more complicated for which version to use. 

Add to it that lie has another meaning-- to not tell the truth. That though is easier to make into past/perfect tenses and past tense. He lied to me. I have lied. I will have lied if I go on with  this. You are lying to me. Adding an -ing makes it past simple. Confused yet? No wonder a writer sometimes chooses a different word.

In the previous paragraph I purposely used a split infinitive-- to not tell the truth... To satisfy a purist, that should be not to tell the truth. I personally don't see a difference in understandability, but I am no purist. I did also look split infinitives up, and it's not the rigid rule for grammar that some believe. That doesn't mean writers do not need to watch out for what might ruin another reader's enjoyment or even for them to lose the theme, which matters to the writer. Sometimes, to avoid that is not a minor change, and it would work against the writer's intent, but when it is minor, why not change it?

Now, let's get to the other meaning of lie and lay-- to recline or to put something down. Here is where how we talk often goes against how we need to write. I could easily say, "I am going to lay down, but would that be correct? I came across this in Thesaurus.

"Lay means “to place or put” (Lay that here). The word lay is also the past tense form of the sense of lie that means “to recline,” as in I lay in bed yesterday. Lay down can mean “to place down” (Lay down your bags), but it can also be the past tense of lie down, as in I lay down for a few hours. A nonstandard but common use of lay is to mean the same thing as the present tense of lie, as in I just want to lay in bed for a few more minutes or I laid down for a few hours. It’s best to avoid this use (and the confusion it can cause) in formal contexts." quote from Lay vs. Lie How to use correctly.

For anyone wanting more about correct usage of these words, go to that link. I've had enough going through it to last until the next time I face the issue *s*.

The app for Grammarly can be a big help, when used in editing-- not so much the first draft, in my opinion. It can really break a flow. It is also only free for the simplest version. To catch more errors of all kinds, it costs but not that much for the help it offers.

 

bad but part of life-- all of it.

 To start, I want to say that what went wrong with us is as nothing compared to other horrendous things-- especially right now, Maui. For us, it was more a string of one thing after another and the question of what might come next. Maui, the terror, lives lost, and loss of an historic town has been something I've followed all week and felt so bad for those living or vacationing there. It is part of life but not what we want to think could happen to anyone. I wrote this blog before the fires, but it is still meaningful for daily life-- usually-- and what do we do about it-- laugh or cry? Well, it's cry when it's huge, but for the rest, pick ourselves up and keep on keeping on.

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It seems to me I read bad things go in threes. So like accidents or items breaking down. We happen to have living proof it doesn't work that way, at least for us. This has been quite a spring,summer for breakdowns and repairs.

First, I think was the pickup truck-- just past its warranty but that would not be covered anyway. This was packrat damage (the little rascals). They evidently like to chew off hoses for their nests. The why of this is beyond human logic, but it required the truck to go into the shop overnight. Fortunately, they do provide rides-- but then they got money too.

It was around then that we realized we had to get new tires for the RV before it could drive north. They can look fine but they get hard and can be a disaster on a long drive.

In late April, we saw that our beloved orange male cat was going downhill. We knew from an earlier veterinary visit and tests that he had FIV. That is no death sentence, but it does cause major health problems. When it became obvious he was in pain, we called the traveling veterinary clinic that does euthanasia in the home. She came and gently he went on his way wherever that might be. Huge loss for us though but worth the cost to have it on his own sofa.  He was buried beside our other male cat that we lost a few years earlier, both with stone markers (names to come later on them)

Then a problem that involved me climbing into the vacation trailer. Although when we last used it, I managed fine, this year-- not so much when it came to the last step, higher than the others. Ranch Boss put on his thinking cap and ordered steps that wouldn't be that high and were sturdier... Turns out they also didn't allow the screen door to close. Back to the thinking cap, while I worked on exercises designed to strengthen old legs. This does not qualify as a breakdown unless I count me. Since I turn 80 this year, I guess that's to be expected unless someone has been running marathons maybe-- then, they probably already got knee or hip replacements....

We got lucky with finding a company that could move the second vacation trailer to my brother's property-- so that was a plus. He paid half the cost of its moving as well as for all of the tires it also needed to drive north.

In the high heat Tucson has been getting, what could go wrong? Turns out our air conditioner. It kind of cooled a bit but not enough. We called a business that had helped us before and they got a new one in place two days later. Amazingly fast but not without cost. A lot of it. 

Of course, after all the wind, the pool opted to have problems with the filter. Ranch Boss took care of that one but it did require a new filter.

Next was the morning when Ranch Boss's computer quit working. This was 'way-badder' since he had not saved his recent hours of work on computing our complicated taxes, where we had filed for an extension, off to the accountant... That meant the accountant had gotten the papers but we had nothing. He tried everything he knew but we are relying on the hopeful help from an expert, as it'd be a shame to lose all that work for our home files. The guy came to the house and all important data was recovered. It's still iffy if a new computer is needed.

We found that the vent for the gas hot water heater's pipe had apparently been disconnected in replacing the A/C; that might be taken care of by the company as just an accident, but we had spent the week waiting for their supposed return. Results on that still awaiting, as is any review on their work *s*.

I didn't count having the expert remove the diamondback from our front porch. It was a cost but not a breakdown as that is just part of nature as was later having a king snake killing one of the fledgling doves. They swallow them whole, and it takes time for them to digest. I'll spare you a photo of that. That was bad for the fledgling and its mama but good for the snake.

The monsoons were late this year and finally got here into August. We have gotten a bit of rain here but more fell other places and in some cases did damage from flooding and wind. Interesting summer so far *s*

The good part about all the unexpected costs is we could afford them. Nobody relishes trouble or its costs, but it does come along-- but so much at once, one after the other?

Villains Part II-- fictional

 To start, I want to say I won't be discussing partisan political issues in this blog *fingers crossed that I can stay with that for my own sanity.* The truth is I believe people tend to live in tribal bubbles and that's probably for sanity. I'd like to do the same, but I read both sides of issues (and yes, both sides are out there). I have opinions, which I might give to a friend over coffee but won't be doing it here as I don't honestly know. It might seem momentarily satisfying to rant, but I don't think it helps me overall, nor do I believe it convinces those in bubbles (on either side). 

Writing about writing is better as I can immerse myself in a different world. Writing about nature is equally good. You won't see me writing here about family either. Those things can change on a dime. So... for those looking for partisan ranting or my daily life, this isn't a blog for them. It will stick to writing, nature, and once in a while what I see as cultural issues which can include my own health when I think sharing might be helpful. Otherwise-- onward and upward as a friend of mine used to say. *s*

 

 One of the difficulties of writing, especially character based stories, is how do we get into the heads of these characters and make what they do seem logical? It's the challenge and there are ways especially where it comes to evil characters.

 Regarding my thinking when creating a fictional villain, I have to start with two questions-- sociopath or psychopath? Is this villain also narcissistic? In other words does anyone matter but that they gain their own aims? This can prove both self damaging but intended to get what one wants at any cost. 

One of my villains began as someone selfish. He evolved eventually into what I'd regard as a psychopath, willing to hurt others at any cost. He had a point of view, which is not the norm for villains, but I wanted him not to come from nowhere but for it to make sense what he was doing. Writing the point of view of 'bad guys' isn't easy but there is a satisfying aspect to it. Remember, what they are doing, to them seems logical. How to make that show up is the challenge for a writer.

I wish I had all my books on writing here in Arizona as right now I can't give the title of the book where I read the following. It was a very successful western author. He said for the hero/heroine to overcome a villain, the villain has to seem powerful also or it's not a big deal. Making a villain seem a real challenge is the job of the author and then the hero to overcome.

Is it a bad guy or a villain is another thing to decide when writing about this clash of good and evil. There are those doing evil works but they don't seem like villains, to me; but rather just bad people. In my books, only true villains get a point of view-- something that not all authors choose. To go from being a bad guy to a villain is fun for an author to write and make it into a character study. 

One of my fictional villains was trying to cover up another crime. I wanted the reader to wonder --who was it as there were two possibilities.

Where I feel I have missed something significant is to have a villain who has mixed feelings. Generally, mine have a goal where being bad is what it takes, and they don't look back to be sure it's where they want to go.

What I basically feel is that writing villains can be fun, but the writer needs to look into why they could do such things. Most of the time with the newspaper articles on what could be called villainous acts, we rarely find the motives. Journalists look for it but the evil doers are not encouraged to reveal how they think, even when found guilty

Motives are a key in romances for the bad guys or the heroes.