The Novels Of Terri-Lynne Smiles

I’m doing a spring cleaning of the basement and it’s LONG overdue. I’ve managed to accumulate stuff to fill every nook and cranny including those nooks and those crannies that were formed by filling the original ones. So a few days ago, I started sorting through it all, separating out what can be garage saled, what needs to be shredded, and what needs to be pitched. This morning, I delivered several boxes of old files to a client.

It’s quite a workout and, at this point, the basement is in a state of complete chaos, but I can already see that there’s more room and less stuff. And that makes me feel very good!

It snowed overnight and Facebook is filled with complaints about the weather. It’s been an unusually long, cold and snowy winter so I understand, but I rather like the snow this morning. On the heels of a warm spring weekend, its a reminder of what we’ve left behind. Plus the stark white snow is a beautiful contrast to the lush green grass, pastels of spring flowers, and budding leaves on the trees.

So thank you snow. You remind me to enjoy Spring that much more.

It rained today. I know rain is good and necessary, but I was getting used to walking outside and I couldn’t. Instead, my husband and I went dodge-malling. That’s what he calls going for a vigorous walk at the mall, weaving in and out of the much slower shoppers. It wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I can’t have everything I want, so I went.

I feel a whole lot better now. It was nice to get out. It was nice to be in a bright, cheerful atmosphere. It was nice just to get my body moving. Dodge-malling. Sometimes its a good thing.

Four years ago, we got a puppy. We’d been without a dog for a year and a half for the first time in our marriage and it was no secret that I didn’t want a new one. But my husband prevailed and we got what from all indications would be a 25 pound, calm edition to our family. But Morgan surprised us by becoming a spaz at twice that size. And she’s stupid. I mean, do you know any dogs who forget to EAT?

But in the evening, when I’m done working and sit down on the couch, she snuggles up beside me, rests her head on my leg and is completely content with life. She’s so loving, it’s hard not to respond in kind, and why would I try?

Tonight I tackled some tedious work that was bothering me because one detail in one of my books wasn’t exactly right. Few, if anyone would notice. BUT I KNEW. And it bugged me. So tonight, with a great deal of tedious work, it is fixed and correct. Because of that, I feel a great sense of accomplishment.

Of course, I also know the “accomplishment” is mostly relief that it’s correct. Otherwise, it was like seeing a cockeyed picture (or my crooked curtain rods – THOSE drive me crazy!). There are little details in life that most people never notice, but some of us do. And fixing them brings a flood of relief like nothing you can imagine.

So tonight, I’m grateful that I was able to fix my off-kilter picture.

The sunshine played with the ends of my hair and the spring breeze cooled my cheeks. And I walked. I walked silently along sidewalks and cut through lumpy grass mounds the newly green lawns. The crystal blue sky above me was calming. Birds flutter past and called from distant trees. Children squealed on the school playground while others readied their bikes for a new season. Other walkers smiled generously and nodded as they went their way. My husband’s hand folded around mine as I walked, surrounding not just my hand but all of me with warmth and comfort. And we kept walking, noticing each moment and the joys of spring it held.

I just finished reading the manuscript of a novel from a new writer. I enjoyed the characters, but otherwise, it wasn’t very good. But then again, it wasn’t terrible either. It was simply… not ready. And you know what? I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Reading is essential for writers. Reading good fiction is nice, but reading bad fiction and figuring out exactly how it went wrong is a fantastic learning experience. Even well-known writing principles come alive when seen through the mis-steps of someone else’s manuscript. Perhaps that sounds harsh, but I don’t mean it that way. I learned a tremendous amount when other writers slogged through my initial bad manuscripts, and I feel good about paying that back to newer writers by sharing what I’ve learned so far –  and honing my skills in the process. I hope this writer will feel the same when all is said and done.

Bad fiction is good – it helps me learn.

Yesterday evening, I struck up a conversation with a stranger. I’d seen her once or twice before, but we’d never spoken. I explained to her that I was an author and have free promo of one of my novels coming up. I handed her a card with the information on it and asked if she would be willing to download it during the free period and perhaps tell her friends about it. Increasing the number of downloads is helpful to me, I said.

She agreed. Not only that, but she bought a copy of the book last night, even though it will be free in a week, so that she could tell her friends more about the novel. We continued talking to discover a common background. Our total conversation lasted less than five minutes, but she departed, enthusiastic about helping me spread the word about the free promotion as far as possible.

As I sit here today, thinking about who I need to personally tell about the promotion and anticipating the reaction of a few “friends” (annoyance that I asked for their help), I am struck by the kindness of a stranger. And, of course, I am very grateful.

I got stuck this morning in my writing. Usually this means I having figured something out. Today, it was the motivations of the two bad- guys who are working together and the interplay with the organization for which one of them works. Very few of my characters have one pure motivation. That is, bad guys aren’t bad simply because they want to oppose the good guy. They have multiple reasons and rationales for how they behave and what they believe, and not infrequently, these motivations conflict. Thus, the weave of the multiple objectives, points of view and motivations becomes complex as I work them through.

When I was new to writing, I would have just plowed right through, figuring the problems and questions would somehow work themselves out, only to find the characters wandering aimlessly through the story. Now I relish working on motivations. For me, it’s what makes everything hang together – and what makes writing fun!

I had to wait a few weeks longer than usual to start my garden. The ground was still frozen in March, followed by rain that flooded our yard. But I’ve finally planted my cool weather crops – cleaning the weeds and remains of last year’s beans from the bed, breaking up the soil, troweling out little furrows, and sprinkling in the lettuce, spinach, chard, and snap pea seeds.

I am getting old and creaky, but gardening is still gratifying and seeing the tiny plants emerge from the ground in a week or so will be my reward.