Picnic Magic

We all know what happened when Alice fell asleep on the river bank following a picnic with her sister.  There's something magically about the entire idea of a picnic be it on a riverbank, a favorite spot in the woods, in the park, or on the beach. You're packing up and 'escaping the normal.'  All the items purchased and placed in the picnic basket are meant for this adventure. Gone are the rules of sitting at the table, of using china, and silverware – it's time to step outside the box.

Writing is like going on a picnic. You start with a basket – there is an endless variety to style but the purpose is the same – to hold your picnic items.

A plotter's picnic basket...

 What type of basket are you?

Tradition outliner....

A blender of methods...

A panters....

What type of pinic is this going to be? A gathering fo friends and family? Some downtime? What type of story will it be? Will it be a mystery if so will it be blood or cozy? Or will it be a romance?  A science fiction or fantasy? Etc. Whatever the type it's meant to give life to the contents inside.

Once you have decided on the type of story you want to write, you have to decide who your characters will be. Characters are the food for your basket. No two people pack the same items like no two writers create the same characters.  

When you look into your empty basket, your mind races with ideas of what to place in there. It disregards possibilities as quickly as they form until finally you've decided on what you want to take. Will it be a simple sandwich and chips picnic or a chicken and pasta outing?

The spot you've selected for your picnic is as important as what goes into the basket. The same is true with your story's setting.  Once you arrived at your selected picnic destination a special feeling fills you.

Only your imagination will limit the possibilities of a picnic and the same is true for your story. So this summer pack up a basket/bag/cooler and head out for a couple of hours. Take a notebook/Ipad/laptop and create. Let the magic of the picnic seep into your story….

Tasarla

Here is a recipe for a peanut butter cookie I always make regardless for the type of picnic...

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1/2 cup peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and beat well.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
3. Drop by teaspoons onto greased baking sheet, and press each mound down with a fork to form 1/4 inch thick cookies. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown.
4. To Make Filling: Cream 3 tablespoons butter or margarine with the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, and the cream. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.

Can You Feel the Music?

When I first started writing toward publication, I couldn't comprehend the idea of writing to music. I thought it would be distracting and I'd end up typing song lyrics instead of the words that were meant for my manuscript.

Then... the manuscript stalled for me. A friend suggested writing to music. I cringed. And then I agreed to try it--if she could recommend some non-classical instrumental-only stuff. So began my love affair with Apocalyptica, but also... I finished the manuscript and developed an addiction to writing to music.

I moved on from instrumental-only and created playlists for every manuscript. When I first began doing it, I tried to make each playlist completely unique, but I found that didn't work for me. Too different meant that it was a distraction, just as I'd always feared. Then, rather than trying to make everything different, I just picked songs that spoke to me AND to the story. In the end, that means a lot of my playlists feature the same artists, and often the same songs, over and over.

Now, that seems logical enough, but the funny part is that I can tell them apart. If I have on the wrong playlist (even if 50% of the artists/songs are the same) it distracts me and I can't sink into the music to write what I'm working on. For me, the playlist itself--the very order and slight variety of songs--speaks to the story. It's my entry point to the world, and without it the writing is harder.

The playlist for Pretty Souls was one of the first I created. For fun, I want to play a little game. Some of you have read Pretty Souls, but for those who haven't, here's the blurb:

My life followed a simple pattern. 

Run to keep my inner wolf asleep. 

Make sure my blood-sucking foster sister, Cass, feeds. 

Hunt for supernatural trouble when we should be sleeping. 

Keep my grades up and my head down. 

It was mostly a game. 

Until people started wandering around like living zombies. 

Until people I care about started getting hurt. 

Until the menace came knocking on my front door. 

Game’s over. 

Time for the soul-stealer to realize just because he’s hunting something doesn’t make it prey. 

Cass and I bite back. 

~The Paranormal Response Team~ 

Saving the World Before Breakfast

There is also an excerpt here.


With what you know of the story, what song (or songs) would you have put on the playlist? 

(At the end of the week, I'll post the actual playlist I made when I wrote the book. And if anyone nails one of the songs, I'll draw one of the "right" answers randomly and give away some sort of prize--to be discussed with the winner. As a hint, there are no Apocalyptica songs on the soundtrack, but there's one below just because I love them.)