Twenty-seven Down, Three to Go!

Having an end date for your quest through the noveling unknown is like bringing along a team of jetpack-wearing, entrepreneurial Sherpas.
— Chris Baty

Despite what you may have learned last month, sustained writing is best accomplished as part of a balanced lifestyle, one that includes things like grocery shopping and speaking in complete sentences with your significant other.
― Chris Baty

I tend to celebrate crossing over with a meditative ceremony where I print the book out and neatly stack its pages on the floor. When everything has been properly laid out, I take a few steps back from the work, close my eyes, and offer up my thanks to the writing powers for another bountiful harvest. At which point, I get a running start and dive headlong into my word-pile, rolling around and snorting like a pig. And then I fall asleep for three days. How you celebrate is up to you.
― Chris Baty

Well, this is definitely a first for me. I actually reached the 50,000 word mark on Wednesday. In other words, I finished NaNo a week early. I still can’t believe it. This has never happened to me in all the years I’ve been doing it.

AND for the first time ever, I never fell behind in the words once. It was steady progress the whole time. But I’m not done yet. I said I was going to do a story a day, and I have three more to go.

When I decided to do an anthology instead of a novel, I honestly never expected that I’d be able to keep up the pace. This week actually went better than the week before. All except Friday. I picked out my prompt for Friday early, and then struggled through most of the day trying to get it done. Finally, in the early evening I gave up and switched to a new idea. Not only did I get it finished in time to log it on the NaNo site, I really liked the story.

And just to prove I’ve been under a magic NaNo star . . . I got an email from one of the organizers telling me my name was drawn from a pool of others who donated (NaNo is a non-profit organization). I’m not sure what it is, but it’s on the way. Also on the way is the shirt I liked but had to wait until they restocked before I could order it.

Once again I used a prompt that I used before, but again the story was totally different. The first one was only 500 words for one thing, and the ending was different. The new one, aside from being much longer, had more interaction between the characters and ended in a budding romance. Definitely a keeper.

Even though I have more energy and time in the mornings, I’m finding I’m getting my best writing done in the evenings. I have no idea what’s up with that. I was really hoping to spend more time in my office to create a routine in there but it just didn’t happen.

One of the reasons is, it’s been sunnier than I expected. Not that I’m complaining, far from it. I’ve been grateful for the sunny days because they energize me. But I can only sit at my desk early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The rest of the time the sun is angled just right to reflect off the screen of my computer.

Of course I’m an early riser, and I’ve got a good two hours before the sun’s a problem, so I really can’t use that as an excuse for the entire day. And it’s no excuse at all for the grey days, which we’re going to be getting a lot of this winter, according to the weather man.

Maybe it’s just a case of mind over matter. I need to stop thinking about it and just do it.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Wordage Report

NEW WORDS:
Flash anthology – 16,161
Blog Posts – 1044+662+365+1204=3,475
Total = 19,636 words

Down to the home stretch with NaNo. There’s going to be a serious drop in new words next week. LOL

EDITING:
Actually looking forward to editing these stories.

WHAT I’M READING:
Despite the fact I’ve getting higher word counts, I did more reading last week. I treated myself to a new Nora Roberts book, a two-in-one called Christmas Everlasting. ‘Tis the season, ho ho ho. I’ve only read a couple of chapters, but it beats playing online games.

On the Kindle I finished reading Werewolves Only, by Carrie Pulkinen, the book about the cop and the werewolf. I really wanted to thump the hero so he’d tell the heroine the whole truth, but everything worked out in end, as it should.

Then, for something different, I read Seduction Games, by Allyson Lindt. It was about three gaming friends, the woman meeting the two men for the first time. The hotness of it didn’t take away from the greatness of the story over all.

Now it’s back to the werewolves with Fated Mates, by Alicia Montgomery. So far all I’ve read in this story so far is the main character (whose name I forget) is a private detective who’s just found out she’s a vampire.

GOALS
Crossed the finish line with NaNo and I’m still going. I’m back to having fun with the stories, maybe because the pressure’s off.

The blog posts all got up on time and I had no problems writing them, unlike the way it was going before NaNo. Maybe I do better under pressure.

I’ve been toying with ideas for my post NaNo plan. Instead of scheduling things for a specific time, I’m going to try listing things I want to accomplish and give myself a time limit for them.

THIS WEEK’S GOALS
1. Finish NaNo and celebrate.
2. Keep up the good work on the blog posts.
3. Refine my post NaNo plan.

Write on.

Story Eleven

Believe it or not, I actually reached my 50,000 words for NaNo on Wednesday, but I also pledged to write a story a day, so I’m still at it. I actually edited this story to shorten it up for the blog, hopefully it still makes sense.

Prompt: You receive a mysterious call from a friend who asks you to meet him or her at a secret location. When you arrive, that friend reveals that he or she is, by night, a superhero. What’s more, the friend needs your help in solving the latest case. Only problem is you can’t help. When your friend asks why you reveal the big twist—you’re the villain.

It was an ordinary enough day, I went to work, flirted with the new mail guy, came home, and after treating myself to Chinese take-out for supper, relaxed in front of the boob tube. A pretty boring start to my weekend maybe, but life’s not excitement all the time. Sometimes you just have to sit back and enjoy life, you know?

Right on cue, it was at this juncture the phone rang. I looked at it and considered just letting it keep ringing. And in retrospect, the way things turned out I wish I had. But curiosity got the better of me and I picked up the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Santos, I’m so glad I found you at home!”

“What’s up Walt?”

“I’m working on something big, something really big.”

“I’m listening.” I reached down and picked up my bottle of beer from the coffee table to take a swig.

“I can’t talk about this over the phone. You’ll have to come and meet me.”

“Aw, man. I was planning to stay in tonight.”

“Please, Santos! You’re the first one I thought of to help me. Let me give you directions to where I am.”

“What the hell,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t have anything better to do.”

He began to rattle off directions and I wrote them down, hoping I got them right. “Okay, Walt, I think I’ve got it. Do—”

“Just hurry,” he said, and hung up before I could reply.


I got lost twice trying to follow Walter’s directions, and I had to back track once. The novelty of him being so mysterious had totally worn off by the time I reached the end of his instructions and parked my car. I was in a small parking lot close to a wooded area. There was no sign of Walter so I leaned into my car and tapped the horn.

“Quiet!” Walter hissed from behind me.

I whirled around. “Jeez, give me a heart attack why don’t you, Walter.”

I waited a couple of minutes before asking, “So what was so important we needed to meet at night in the middle of nowhere?”

“First, I have something to share. Something no one else in the world knows.” He hesitated. “I just don’t know where to start to explain it to you.”

I leaned back against the side of my car. “Just spit it out, Walter.”

“Okay. Here goes. I’m the Avenging Angel.”

I stared at him a minute and then I started laughing. “Good one, Walt. I could have done without the convoluted trip out here, but nice to see you’ve developed a sense of humor.” I turned to get back into my car but his voice stopped me.

“I am the Avenging Angel.” His voice sounded deeper, more sonorous.

I turned around slowly, and there beside me stood the Avenging Angel, the super hero that had been in all the news for the last three months. There had been a great deal of speculation over who he might be, this strange hero in the white spandex suit with the enormous, white, feathery wings. He wore a mask over his head, leaving only a small patch on his throat bare.

He appeared suddenly, three months ago, just in time to save a female politician from being assassinated. He’d been appearing regularly, if not sporadically, ever since. The thing was, he seemed to cherry pick those he helped – the rich politician, the jewelry store owner, the high profile couple who’s baby had been kidnapped. But that was a private observation and not one the public had put together yet.

“Why are you telling me this?” I wondered. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m honored, but I don’t understand why you would share this with me of all people.”

“I’m working a case, a very important case, but I can’t do it alone. I need your help.”

“My help?”

“You’re the only one I know who can not only keep my secret, but help me in my task. You’re strong, and smart, and you’re good at keeping secrets.”

“Well,” I said after hesitating for a moment, “If nothing else, you have me intrigued. What’s this case, and how do you think I can help you?”

“I’m going after the Whirling Dervish.”

My eyes widened. “You know who he is?”

The Whirling Dervish had appeared shortly after the Angel, acting as a counter part to him. He’d been villainized by the press, accused of interfering with the Angel’s good deeds and setting criminals free.

“No,” he admitted, turning to pace. “I don’t know his identity, but I’ve come up with a way to trap him, only it will take two of us.”

“I’m listening.”

He went on to tell me that he’d studied the videos of the Dervish, and figured out his fighting techniques. He proposed to create a crime, with me acting as the criminal, and when the Dervish appeared to help me escape, I’d shoot him with a specially made dart. The serum on the end of the dart would paralyze the Dervish long enough for the Angel to swoop in with a magnetic net.

“You’re sure this would work?”

“Absolutely. Like mine, his powers manifested during that magnetic pulse that hit the earth three months ago. I’ve heard of a few others who’ve been blessed with super powers, but none as strong as the Whirling Dervish and me. He needs to be stopped.”

“It’s a solid plan,” I told him in genuine admiration. “There’s only one little problem.”

“What’s that,” he asked indulgently, as if I wasn’t smart enough to find a flaw.

I started to spin, and before he could react, I had my talons buried in his throat, the only vulnerable place on him. “I’m the Whirling Dervish,” I whispered in his ear.

He gurgled a response, which only became more pronounced as I let him drop to the ground. I stared at his cooling body. Who’d have thought mousey little Walter had been the Avenging Angel, there was just no telling about people.

Closing my eyes, I let my Dervish personae subside and became simply Santos again. That had been easier than I expected. Walter liked to pretend the Avenging Angel had been the hero of the story, but the truth was he was making a fortune getting kick backs from the stores he “protected.” Most of the other crimes had involved actors hired for the job.

Just because he was dressed in white didn’t mean he was the good guy.

Spice of Life Part XIII Cardamom

Description:
Cardamom comes from the seed pod of the Elettaria cardamomum, a perennial plant in the ginger family. The entire cardamom pod can be used whole or ground. The seeds are small and black, while the pods differ in color and size by species. It has a warm, pungent, sweetly aromatic flavor.

Cardamom can be used in both savory and sweet dishes. It’s a popular seasoning in Indian and South Asian dishes, especially curries. In Scandinavia it’s used in pastries and mulled wine. Cardamom is a key ingredient in Arabic and Turkish coffee, as well as masala chai.

History:
Cardamom is one of the most ancient spices in the world, dating back at least 4000 years. Initially it grew wild in South West India where the native tribes harvested and sun dried it to trade. It was brought to merchants who took it to the ports along the Malabar coast. From there it found its way to the various trade routes.

The Egyptians used it in medicine and also added it to the oils used for preparation in the mummification process. The Arabian traders introduced cardamom to the Romans and Greeks, and it became a popular trade item with the Babylonians, Mesopotamians, and Assyrians as well.

The Vikings came cross it in Constantinople, and introduced it into Scandinavia, where it remains popular to this day. During the 19th century, British colonists set up cardamon plantations, some of which are still in use today, although Guatemala is the largest commercial producer of cardamom. In some areas, it’s considered an even more valuable crop than coffee.

Medicinal Uses:
The Ancients used cardamom to help with digestion issues, specifically indigestion, nausea, and relief from ulcers. It’s both an antioxidant and a diuretic that may help lower blood pressure, and it’s believed to contain cancer fighting compounds. Its anti-inflammatory compounds may help protect from chronic diseases such as liver disease.

Chewing gum often contains cardamom to fight off the bacteria in your mouth that cause bad breath, although chewing on cardamom pods after a meal can have the same effect. Breathing in essential oils containing cardamom can help relax your airway, stimulating your oxygen intake which is helpful when treating asthma. Cardamom extracts and essential oils have compounds that fight many strains of bacteria that can cause fungal infections, food poisoning, and other stomach issues.


Recipes:

Cardamom Sun Tea

Ingredients:
6 cups water
1/4 cup loose white tea leaves
6 whole cardamom pods
Honey

Directions:
Place water, tea leaves and cardamom pods in large container or pitcher. Stir. Cover with lid or plastic wrap. Let stand in sun for 3 to 5 hours.
Strain tea, discarding tea leaves and cardamom pods. Serve over ice or refrigerate until chilled. Sweeten with honey, if desired.


Indian Rice Pudding

Ingredients:
2/3 cup jasmine rice
5 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flaked coconut
6 whole cardamom pods
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
2 tablespoons raisins

Directions:
Combine rice and milk in medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low; simmer 30 minutes or until rice is tender and creamy, stirring frequently.
Stir in sugar, coconut, cardamom and vanilla. Pour into bowl. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours or until ready to serve. Remove cardamom pods. Sprinkle with almonds and raisins before serving

Twenty Down, Ten to Go!

The biggest thing separating people from their artistic ambitions is not a lack of talent. It's the lack of a deadline. Give someone an enormous task, a supportive community, and a friendly-yet-firm due date, and miracles will happen.
— Chris Baty

A deadline is, simply put, optimism in its most kick-ass form. It's a potent force that, when wielded with respect, will level any obstacle in its path. This is especially true when it comes to creative pursuits.
― Chris Baty

In the context of novel writing, this means you should lower the bar from “best-seller” to “would not make someone vomit.” Exuberant imperfection encourages you to write uncritically, to experiment, to break your time-honored rules of writing just to see what happens. In a first draft, nothing is permanent, and everything is fixable. So stay loose and flexible, and keep your expectations very, very low.
― Chris Baty

It’s the start of week three *whoops! that should be week four* of NaNo, can you believe it? Ten more days. Ten more stories. At this point it’s not the words I’m worried about – with my average story being 2,000 words long, I technically only need to write five more stories – but I really want to keep to my pledge of a story a day.

The novelty of writing a story a day is starting to wear off. At first it was kind of fun, you know? Now it’s more like a chore. It’s getting harder and harder to pick an idea, and I need to pick them earlier and earlier in the day so that I have time to think about them for a while before I start writing.

And it’s taking me longer and longer to get going once I start writing. I flounder around for the first five, six hundred words and then about halfway through the story I finally figure out where it’s going. Story eighteen I was almost 1000 words in before I figured out what I was doing.

So far, I’ve been sticking with the prompts I cherry picked from the Writer’s Digest prompts archive. I copy/pasted them into a single, ten page document and I’ve been picking them at random, highlighting the ones I’ve used. Lately, I’ve been going back and picking prompts I originally rejected.

I keep having to remind myself that nobody really needs to see any of these stories unless I decide to let them. I just need to write – to get the words down, any words. They don’t have to be good words or even make any sense, they just have to be words.

That doesn’t really work though, I don’t listen to myself. I’m making it harder than it needs to be because I like stories to have a point, to make sense. And with some of these prompts that’s a little hard to do. Also, some of the prompts really don’t lend themselves to a story that’s at least 1667 words long.

So far, I’ve written a couple of stories I really like, and some that I really don’t. The first story I wrote was supposed to be funny but took a serious turn. I can’t wait to edit it because I think I’ve got a winner there. And the aforementioned story eighteen – now that I figured out what it’s really about, I think it’s going to be a keeper too.

But there are more than a few stories that are real dogs, like story nineteen, which was a prompt about waking up in the body of a baby. Or the story written from the prompt where you go to bed wishing to wake up as someone else, and you do. Not too sure about yesterday’s story either, which I attempted to make funny but I’m pretty sure I fell way short. LOL

One thing most of these stories have in common though, is that they’re mostly written in the first person. I don’t know if it’s because the prompts are geared that way, or that’s just the way I’ve been interpreting them, but the weird part is, I don’t usually write in the first person. Could a first person novel be far behind?

God, I hope not! *shudder*

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Wordage Report

NEW WORDS:
Flash anthology – 14,822
Blog Posts – 1226+776+634+1383=4,059
Total = 18,881 words

Still ahead of the game over all. But the bloom is off the rose now and I’m beginning to struggle.

EDITING:
Yeah, who am I kidding? When this is all done I hope I’ll find some editing mojo again, but right now it’s all about the NaNo words.

WHAT I’M READING:
Doing even less reading than last week. I read one chapter of The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman. It’s not that I’m not enjoying the book, I just don’t seem to find the time right now. Too busy writing, I guess.

What reading I’ve been doing is on the Kindle. I’m about halfway through a book about an Alpha werewolf who’s falling in love with a cop. The complication is the fact there’s a demon who’s going around raping and killing and causing mayhem, and they’re both after it.

GOALS
Once again I got two out of three. My NaNo is still progressing well, even if some of the stories suck. But I got all my blog posts up on time, so there’s that.

Did not get out to enjoy the sunshine, not that there was a lot of sunshine to enjoy. If it wasn’t raining it was windy, sometimes both. Cold and windy just doesn’t appeal. Maybe I’ll get out there for a walk come spring. LOL

THIS WEEK’S GOALS
1. Keep pushing forward with NaNo.
2. Keep up the good work on the blog posts.
3. Start working on my after NaNo plan. You know, the one for developing a better work ethic, like writing every day, doing some editing, maybe *gasp* try a little marketing.

Write on.

Story Ten

This is one of my shorter stories, but I still pared it down by 400 words to shorten it up further. Mostly it was description, you’ll never miss it. LOL

Prompt: You (or a character, or perhaps two) have been enjoying a leisurely walk down a familiar wooded path for about an hour, when you suddenly realize that you no longer know where you are. Trusting that your current path will lead you back home—after all, it logically should—you turn around and head back the way you came. After a few moments, you conclude that you must have somehow strayed… because before you stands a structure that appears to be made of gingerbread.

One of my dreams has always been to live out in the country, but until I can afford to make that happen, I have to content myself hiking in the national park whenever I can. They have many trails to choose from, and on this particular Saturday I picked a medium length one.

I didn’t meet anyone on the trail, nor did I expect to. Who wanted to get up early on a Saturday morning to go hiking? Besides me, I mean. Later in the day would be a different story, but by then I’d be well away from here.

There were a lot of limbs down from the storm we had the previous night, but that was to be expected. Then I came to a massive tree, I think it might have been a beech tree, that had been uprooted and fallen right across the path. It seemed like a good place to stop for a snack while I contemplated what I should do.

I sat on a large rock near the roots of the tree and alternated sips from my bottle of water and bites of my ham and cheese sandwich as I went over my options in my head. I could try climbing over the tree, but it looked like it took a couple of other trees with it and I wouldn’t want to get tangled up or maybe injured.

I could just go back and take another, shorter trail to round out my hike, but the trails were probably starting to get busy by now. Did I really want my peace and quiet shattered by shrieking children and barking dogs? I shuddered at the thought.

The logical option was to just go around the tree. I tried to push my way through the dense brush around the exposed roots of the tree, sneezing at the dust from the loose soil. It didn’t take long to realize this wasn’t going to work. So then I tried going the other way, following a faint game trail along the length of the tree as best I could and then circled round the top to get back to the trail I’d been following.

It seemed to take a lot longer to find the trail than it should, but I did eventually find it. Something seemed a little off about it, but I shrugged the feeling away. Then I came to a stream. Ordinarily that wouldn’t be a problem, the stepping stones made it easy to cross, but I didn’t think any of the trails crossed a stream. Could I have gotten turned around in my detour around the tree?

Uneasy now, I went a little further. The trees were getting denser on either side of the trail and I didn’t recognize any of the land marks. I thought I knew all of the trails in this park, but this one was totally unfamiliar.

I slowed, and then stopped. I had no idea where this trail was leading me. The safest thing to do was to re-trace my steps. I re-crossed the stream and found my way back to the game trail, which led me back to the main trail again, but there was no sign of the beach tree. This trail, too, was totally unfamiliar. I couldn’t understand how I could have lost my way, but obviously I had. Now what should I do?

This time a stump served as my seat, and I took out another bottle of water and one of the apples I’d packed. It was a little embarrassing to have to admit I’d gotten lost. There was no point in trying to retrace my steps again. My best bet would be to follow this new trail. It would have to circle back to the park entrance eventually, or at the very least it should cross one of the trails I was more familiar with.

With a sigh, I hefted my back pack again and started off, figuring at least I was going in the right direction. My sense of optimism wavered as the trail began to narrow, and it died away altogether as the trail ended in a small clearing that contained a small cottage.

I didn’t realize they allowed cottages in this area of the park. There were cabins you could rent on the far side of the entrance, and a large camp ground beyond that, but this section of the park was strictly for hiking. Or at least it was.

But whatever. I couldn’t deny the evidence in front of me. Hopefully there was someone at home and they could point me in the right direction for the park entrance. I was more than ready to get out of here.

As I drew closer to the cottage, I saw that it wasn’t made out of wood, as I’d first assumed, but of some kind of brownish substance, like adobe. And was that gingerbread I smelled? I stopped in my tracks. The tiny house was made out of gingerbread!

This was crazy. Or maybe it was me who was crazy. I couldn’t help myself. I reached over and broke off a piece of the window sill and gave it a sniff before popping it in my mouth. Nice and crispy, full of gingery goodness.

I broke off another piece just as the door opened and a little old lady dressed like a witch appeared.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she screeched.

“I’m sorry,” I stammered.

“Now that you’re here you might as well come in.”

Filled with wonder, I followed her inside. The cottage was one, large room. There a large oven up against one wall and a work table in front of it.

“The least you could do is make me a new window ledge,” the old lady said. “I’ve already mixed up the dough, you’ll have to roll it out and bake it.”

“It’s the least I can do,” I said.

I rolled out the dough, then cut it in a wide strip that was about the same size as the window ledge. Carefully, I transferred it to a baking sheet and turned to slide it into the oven. As I did so, I felt a tremendous shove from behind. The old woman pushed me right into the oven!

“That’ll teach you to leave the trail,” she cackled. “You inhaled some toxic mushroom spores. They’re making you hallucinate.”

I blinked my eyes open. “What?” I asked blearily.

“I said, you inhaled psilocybin mushroom spores,” the main dressed in white repeated.

“Where am I?” I looked around in confusion.

“You’re in the hospital. The park rangers found you stumbling around in the forest, high as a kite. The storm we had last night caused a beech tree to fall across one of the trails—”

“I remember that,” I said. “I tried to go around it, and I think I got lost.”

“When the tree uprooted it exposed a large patch of psilocybin mushrooms. The nearest they can figure, you inhaled the spores and started hallucinating. You’re lucky you didn’t go far from the tree.”

“I didn’t?”

“Just try and get some rest now,” the doctor said. “It’ll take a while for the drug to work its way out of your system.”

“But what about the witch?” I asked.

“What witch?” the doctor asked, trying not to smile.

“Never mind,” I muttered.

The doctor exited, and I was left to contemplate what had happened to me. I wondered how much of my hike after encountering the fallen tree had been real. I also had an incredible craving for gingerbread.

Spice of Life Part XII Anise

Description:
Though similar in flavor to star anise, anise is quite different. It comes from the Pimpinella anisum plant, which is part of the parsley family. It has a sweet, aromatic flavor that is much like black licorice. In fact, it is often used to flavor licorice as well as black jelly beans.

It comes from the Mediterranean region and is a key ingredient in candy and alcoholic drinks, such as Ouzo, Sambuca and Absinthe. It pairs well with seafood, and can also be used in dairy products, gelatins, meats, and breath fresheners. In Europe it’s used in cakes, cookies, and sweet breads, while in the Middle East and India it’s used in soups and stews.

History:
It’s generally agreed that the Egyptians were the first to have cultivated anise, more that 2,000 years ago. Both biblical and ancient Egyptian texts mention its use for both culinary and medicinal purposes, and the seeds were often entombed with the bodies of Pharaohs.

It was also cultivated by the Greeks and Romans, and made its way to Europe by the Middle Ages. By the 14th century, anise could be found throughout the Mediterranean as well as Germany and England. Anise seeds were introduced to the New World by the Spanish and the Virginia colonists, and made its way to Mexico where it became a staple in many Mexican dishes.

Medicinal Uses:
Anise is most commonly used for indigestion, and to reduce the pain and bloating of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). A cup of anise tea before bed is thought to reduce the symptoms of asthma and sleep discomforts due to allergies. Anise seed extract has been taken to reduce the frequency of hot flashes in menopausal women. It is sometimes used as an expectorant for dry coughs, and aniseed tea can help alleviate the pain of a sore throat.

Other Uses:
Anise has a wide history of use in folklore. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed anise seeds had the ability to avert the evil eye. It was also believed to act as an aphrodisiac. It was used in voodoo and lunar rituals, and it was believed that filling a small pillowcase with anise seeds will prevent nightmares, while the fresh leaves will ward off evil spirits.

In modern use, anise seed extract is used in perfume, soap, creams, sachets, and toothpaste. It can also be mixed with lard for a treatment for insect bites.


Recipes:

Anise Milk

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon crushed anise seeds

Instructions:
Place milk and anise seeds in a pot and bring to a gentle boil. Strain into a mug. Add sweetener if desired.


Bizcochitos (Anise Cinnamon Sugar Cookies)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cups sugar (divided)
1 1/2 teaspoons aniseed
1 large egg
2 tbsp rum
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
Cream the butter and 3/4 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
Crush the aniseeds in a mortar and pestle.
Add the crushed aniseed, egg, and brandy to the creamed mixture and combine thoroughly.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
Divide the dough in half and pat each half into a 1-inch thick disk.
Wrap disks of dough in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the remaining cup of sugar with the cinnamon.
Working with one disk at a time, roll out the dough to about 1/4-inch thick on a well floured board. Cut the dough into shapes.
Dip in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and put on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Transfer to a rack to cool.

The Train Is Still On the Track!

You are doing this because you are fantastic and brave and curious. And, yes, you are probably a little crazy. And this is a good thing.
— Chris Baty

As Isaac Newton observed, objects in motion tend to stay in motion. When writing your first draft, being busy is key. It may feel frustrating at first, but having daily writing periods curtailed by chores, family, and other distractions actually helps you get the thing done. This is partly because the hectic pace forces you to type with a fleet-fingered desperation. But it’s mostly because noveling in the midst of a chaotic life makes “book time” a treat rather than an obligation. It’s a small psychological shift, but it makes all the difference in the world.
― Chris Baty

Deadlines bring focus, forcing us to make time for the achievements we would otherwise postpone, encouraging us to reach beyond our conservative estimates of what we think possible, helping us to wrench victory from the jaws of sleep.
― Chris Baty

I don’t know if it’s because of the pandemic, because we’re not supposed to go out and do stuff, but I don’t feel as frazzled with this NaNo as I usually do. In past years I’ve climbed aboard the crazy train trying to get everything done and get my words in, but I’ve been very Zen this year.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve interacted with friends, cleaned my office, made the meals, done laundry, took a couple of trips up to Costco and other shopping, kept up with my blog posts without having to stay up extra late to do so, and even took a road trip with the daughter to pick up her new puppy.

Could I actually be getting the hang of this NaNo thing?

I can remember when doing a story from a prompt once a week became such a chore that I finally stopped doing it. But now, I’m doing a story a day and I’m pretty much rocking it, if I do say so myself. My longest story so far has been 2,808 words, and the shortest has been 1,402 words. In fact, out of the thirteen stories I’ve written so far, only three have been under 2,000 words, and only two failed to meet the 1,667 daily word goal for NaNo.

In case you’re wondering how I’m keeping track . . . I used to keep track with pen and paper, writing down my daily word count and keeping a running total, but someone posted an Excel Spreadsheet template on line about 10 years ago and I’ve been using it ever since. I keep a blank one as a master, and just have to change the year at the top and save as that year.

I really wish I could remember who posted it, they did an amazing job. It shows the goal, the daily quota, word tally, words left, daily average and a bar graph at the top. Below that it has columns for the date, target total, words today, hours today (which I don’t fill out), running tally, percent today, words left, days left, daily average, projected finish date, and percent complete. The only one I have to fill out is the Words Today – everything else is automatic.

AND there are tabs at the bottom for pages for Progress (which is a bar graph), Novel Info (for your cover picture and synopsis), Characters (with a chart for character names and descriptions), Chapters (for titles and outlines), Plot Sheet (with helpful suggestions for plotting as well as space to do it in), Character Sheet (for individual characters), and Plot Example (a filled out plot sheet to show you how it’s done).

Clearly someone put a lot of work into it, but to be honest, the only thing I use is the Word Tracker. Being a pantser, I tend to let my characters reveal themselves to me bit by bit, and I never plan ahead for chapters, even when I do chapters that begin with journal entries. As for plots, well, they never turn out the way I expect anyway.

Still, having worked with Excel, my hat’s off to whoever created the spreadsheet.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Wordage Report

NEW WORDS:
Flash anthology – 14,880
Blog Posts – 1231+707+542+1278=3,758
Total = 18,638 words

I was a little more up and down with the word counts for my stories last week, but I’m still ahead of the game over all. After all the editing and re-writing I was doing over the last many months, it’s kind of nice to write something fresh.

EDITING:
It occurs to me that just because I’m doing NaNo, where you’re not supposed to edit until you’re done, doesn’t mean I can’t be editing something else. I’ll have to think about that going forward.

WHAT I’M READING:
Still not doing a whole lot of reading. I’m about a quarter of the way through The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman. It’s making me want to read the others in the series again, only I’d want to put them in order first. Still working away reading Lichen, and I’ve discovered it’s a literary journal put out by a writer’s group (I think).

On the Kindle I finished Signed, by Layla Nash, which was about mail order brides and bear shifters. At one point I really wanted to just thump the two main characters on their heads – if they’d just talk to each other they could’ve avoided a whole lot of misunderstanding, but of course if they’d done that it would have made for a shorter book, so I guess I’m glad they didn’t. LOL

Now I’m reading . . . to be honest, I’m not sure what I’m reading. I started reading another bear shifter romance, but I didn’t like the way it was starting out so I switched to something else, only it’s been a couple of days since I’ve been on my Kindle so I don’t remember what it was. Oops!

GOALS
Well . . . two out of three ain’t bad, right? I’m still acing my NaNo, and I got all my blog posts up, although when I scheduled the spice post to appear I forgot to schedule it on my regular blog so it didn’t get up on time.

But as far as getting out to enjoy the sunshine, that was a bit of a bust. I did get out one day for a walk down to the beach with a friend, but it started drizzling, and then turned to rain. The only other day I got out was Wednesday, when I drove the daughter to pick up her new puppy (two hours each way). I guess that doesn’t really count, does it?

THIS WEEK’S GOALS
1. Keep up the good work on NaNo.
2. Keep up the good work on the blog posts.
3. Try to get out and enjoy the sunshine, if we get any.


Write on.

Story Nine

I gotta tell you, I’m having a lot more fun with this Nano than I expected to. I’ve been keeping up with my story a day pledge, and to my surprise, most of them have been over 2,000 words. For the first time since I started NaNo (in 2006), I’ve been steadily ahead on words. (*knock on wood*, don’t want to jinx anything). So far I’ve been using prompts from Writer’s Digest. In case you haven’t guessed, this was story #9, and yes, I did edit it a bit.

Prompt: After a grueling day at work you go home. The sweet allure of your couch and captain crunch is over powering! You arrive at the door, stick in the key, yank it open and … see a writhing horde of Minotaur chanting in the night and then one notices you and charges. You slam the door, wait a minute and try again. This time it’s a mountain with climbers clambering up the towering heights. One waves at you. What do you do? What’s going on with this door of yours? Do you go in?

Work was insane today. It was one order after another, the boss was on a tear, and Jen, my cubical partner, went for lunch and never came back. She’d always been a little flakey, but this was totally unacceptable. And the worst part was, this wasn’t the first time she’d pulled this shit on me and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be the last.

Finally, quitting time. I finished filling my last order and logged off, shutting my system down for the weekend. I met up with my friend Terry at the exit.

“I saw Jen slink back in,” she said. “I guess Boris is getting an early start to his weekend.”

I snorted. “At least somebody’s getting lucky.”

“Another dateless weekend?” Terry asked sympathetically. “Me and Lauren and some of the other girls are headed for the bar, why don’t you join us?”

“To be honest, I’m too beat to do anything but flake out on the couch tonight. It’s been a hell of a week. I’m going to eat a box of Captain Crunch cereal and binge watch something on Netflix.”

Terry made a face. “I don’t know how you can stand living in that creepy building. I wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink, no matter how tired I was.”

There’d been a lot of odd rumors about the building, everything from it being a refuge for witches during the Salem witch trials to fairies from the old country possessing it, but I’d been desperate enough for a place to live that I ignored them. It was rather nondescript, not any more remarkable than the other small apartment buildings on the block, but there was something about it, something odd.

There were stories, of course, several stories, to account for the oddness, and several mysterious deaths. There was the blond actress who’d been found in her locked apartment. She was laying peacefully on the satin coverlet on her bed, dressed in an evening gown, fully made up, and not a mark on her. Then there was the musician who appeared to have choked to death, but there was nothing in his throat and no marks on the outside of it.

There were also several stories about mysterious disappearances but none of them were enough to offset the insanely low rent.

“The bar is doing a karaoke thing tonight,” Terry said in a wheedling voice.

I suppressed a shudder, an even better reason to go straight home. “No thanks.”

“You know where we’ll be if you change your mind.”

“Thanks, Terry. Say hi to the girls for me, and have a good time.”

We separated outside of the building and I headed two blocks to the subway. Of course it was running behind, and it was as busy as my week had been. And of course it was continuing good luck that the train stopped dead in one of the tunnels because there was something on the tracks. It took over an hour before the tracks were cleared again – I was starting to wish I’d taken Terry up on her offer.

Finally, we were moving again. I made it to my stop and dragged myself up the stairs to the street. Two blocks later I was outside of my building.

“Please,” I muttered, ascending the steps. “Let the elevator be working.”

For a change it was, although it creaked and protested all the way to the third floor. By the time I put my key in the lock I was really dragging. I opened the door and blinked in surprise.

Through the door, where my apartment should be, was a scene out of a fantasy, or a nightmare. It was dark, and the cool air held a hint of salt. There was a ring of stones and writhing and dancing around the stones was a herd, or maybe that should be a hoard, of Minotaur. It looked to be some kind of ritual or ceremony, and they were pretty intense, stomping and bellowing. Then one of them looked right at me, gave a ginormous bellow and charged.

I slammed the door shut and then pressed my back against it, expecting any second for him to burst through the door and send me flying. But seconds passed and nothing happened. I shook my head and gave a laugh. I must be more tired than I realized, I was starting to see things.

Another couple of seconds passed and then I took a deep breath and opened the door again. This time it opened on a vast space, giving me a sense of vertigo. There were mountains in front of me, and several yards across the span were a couple of mountain climbers working their way up its side. One of them glanced my way and lifted a hand to wave hello. I gave a half hearted wave back and then shut the door, quietly this time.

They had to be some kind of projections. But who was doing this, and why? I slid down and sat on the floor beside my door, too tired to stand there any longer. I had to think this through.

The Minotaur, straight out of mythology except the setting was all wrong. Weren’t they native, if they’d been real, that is, to the Mediterranean? The setting looked more Celtic, with the smell of the sea, nice touch by the way, and the standing stones. Someone had mixed up their myths. But they did a real nice job on the Minotaurs, they were very realistic looking.

And the mountains… The sense of space was amazing, and it was so real that I’d felt myself swaying, as though standing on a precipice. But again, who was doing this? And more importantly why would anyone go to such trouble. If they were trying to freak me out, it was working.

This was ridiculous. I was tired. All I wanted to do was relax and I wasn’t going to do that sitting in the hall.

“Okay,” I said out loud as I clambered to my feet. “You’ve had your fun, now cut it out and let me get some rest.”

I opened the door one more time and stared around in wonder. There was a beautiful glade, I could hear water and imagined a waterfall just beyond the trees. The ground was covered in a thick carpet of moss and there were flowers everywhere. Although I couldn’t see them, I could hear birds singing. It was idyllic, the escape I’d always dreamed of.

This time, I stepped through the door.

Spice of Life Part XI Star Anise

Description:
Star anise comes from the illicium verum, an evergreen shrub native to Southwest China and Vietnam. The star shaped pods are picked before they’re ripened and then dried in the sun, turning brown or rust in color. It has an intense, licorice-like flavor with hints of mint and clove.

In Europe it’s used in cakes, cookies, and sweet breads, while in the Middle East and India it’s used in soups and stews. The French use it in mulled wine and coffee, and it also pairs well with fish. It’s widely used in Chinese, Indonesian, and Vietnamese cuisine.

History:
Star Anise has been used in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking and medicine for over 3,000 years. In the late 1600s an English navigator was introduced to it in the Philippines and brought it back with him to England. By the 17th century it was being traded in the western civilizations and the Mediterranean and by the 18th century it had spread along the tea routes to Russia and Germany.

Medicinal Uses:
It has both antiviral and antimicrobial properties and has shown promise as a treatment for influenza. It may also lower the risk of cancer, prevent fungal infections, and boost circulation. The relatively high amounts of antioxidants it contains can help improve skin health and help old scars and blemishes to fade as well as support respiratory health.

Star Anise has been shown to possess sedative properties which can aid in sleep issues. It has a high level of iron, which helps boost red blood cell production. It has long been used for digestive issues, including easing cramping and flatulence, and maintaining bacterial balance in the gut. For women it is effective for regulating menstrual cycles and controlling mood swings.

Other uses:
The oil from star anise oil is extremely fragrant and is also used in perfumes, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and skin creams. In Chinese folklore, it was considered good luck to find a star anise with more than eight points.

Warnings:
When using star anise is used for medicinal purposes, its important that you use Chinese star anise and not Japanese, which is poisonous.


Recipes:


Star Anise Tea
Ingredients:
4 cups water
2 tea bags (black tea or green tea)
2 cinnamon sticks
6 star anise
2 teaspoons honey (optional)

Directions:
Bring the water to a boil and pour into a tea pot. Add the tea bags, cinnamon sticks, star anise and honey.
Stir the tea, and leave it to steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags, add any extra sweetener if you want, then serve!


Honey Glazed Chicken

Ingredients:
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup liquid honey
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp fresh ginger, cut in thin strips
6 star anise
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds boneless chicken (breasts or thighs)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except chicken in a bowl, mix well.
Pour into a zip lock bag with chicken and refrigerate 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F
Grease a 13x9 inch baking dish (or line with tin foil).
Place chicken pieces in baking dish and pour remaining marinade over top.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until done, basting every 10 minutes.


Serve with rice or Chinese noodles.

Things I Learned at the Retreat, Part Three

Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.
— Sarah Caldwell

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.
— Abigail Adams

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
— Albert Einstein

I suspect this will be a rather long post because not only will I be talking about my last day at the retreat, I have actual words to report. :-)

So, Sunday the rain actually let up for a bit, and since I was a much earlier riser than my cabin mates, I took a leisurely walk along the lake shore, hoping to get some pictures of the sunrise. The sunrise wasn’t that great, but I got some interesting silhouette shots and I really enjoyed the walk.

For our last session together, we discussed ways to write every day. That seems to be an issue with a lot of writers, especially those working full time jobs or taking care of family, or both. Some of the suggestions included: using a pen and paper (easy to take with you so you can fit in a few words whenever you get a chance), block out a section of time every day (and make your family understand you are not to be disturbed), try just five minutes at a time (you’d be surprised what you can accomplish in just five minutes).

This was followed by our Freefalling, in which we were to focus on a sound during our meditation, and then to step into the sound. We were to start with the phrase, “When I hear this…” My sound was water:

When I hear this… I think of walks in the woods beside a lake. I think of my childhood, driving up to Owen Sound, standing on the precipice of Inglis Falls, or watching the fish jump at the mill dam. I think of waterfalls, big and small, the feel of the spray on my face, the smell of the moisture laden air. The rocks are slippery, don’t get too close. Voices are raised to be heard over the cascade of water. Make your way to the lake where waves are lapping at the shore, crashing if the day is stormy. I think of rain, pitter-pattering on the roof or pounding down during a storm. The fresh, earthy smell of the woods after the rain has gone. The soggy feel of the earth under my feet. The drip, drip, drip of the water returning to the earth.

And for our final lesson in creativity, we turned to a page in our work books that had seven boxes on it with seven different labels: Expressions, Characters, Events, Food, Words, Colours, and Clothing. And under each of these seven labels were seven cues: the Food box included lemon, chili, bread, chocolate, red meat, coffee, pie and the Colour box included yellow, blue, white, grey, green, tangerine, and red. You get the idea.

So then we had fun picking random cues from different boxes and combining them. For instance, taking a cue from Character and one from Events you might end up with a ‘teacher’ at a ‘fire.’ Or a cue from Colour and one from Expression might give you ‘green’ and ‘look before you leap.’ Again, you get the idea.

It was both fun and interesting. You could use just a couple of boxes, or several boxes to create your own prompt. The possibilities were endless. And the best part is, you can totally create your own boxes with your own labels and cues, tailored to your specific needs, like characters, settings, conflicts, obstacles, scenes, escalating conflict… And to fill your boxes the possibilities are endless.

If I run into trouble with my NaNo, I will totally be turning to the boxes to get my creative juices going. But so far I’ve been doing good on my own. I downloaded a whole pile of prompts from Writer’s Digest and I’ve only had to go back and find a new prompt once. And of course because I’m doing flash fiction instead of a novel, it’s no big deal if your idea doesn’t work out and you have to start fresh.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Wordage Report

Woot! I have actual words to report!

New Words:

Flash anthology – 14,031
Blog Posts – 943+594+427+273=2,237
Total = 16,268 words

Not only am I ahead of the game with the words on my NaNo anthology, I managed to get all my blog posts done too.

Editing:

No editing yet, it’s not allowed during NaNo LOL, but I’m kind of looking forward to editing my anthology when it’s done. The first story needs to be expanded, while the second one needs to be condensed a bit.

What I’m Reading:

I haven’t taken much time for reading. I think I’ve only progressed by a chapter or two in The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman. I started reading a book I picked up at the retreat called Lichen. I’m not quite sure whether it’s an anthology or a paperback magazine, but it’s full of stories and poems from a variety of authors. I’m finding it a very interesting read, very thought provoking.

AND I’ve been showing my Kindle a little love lately. I read Inferno, by V. Vaughn, book one of the Smokey Falls Wolves series. I just love me a good werewolf story and this didn’t disappoint. I don’t know the name of the one I’m reading now, but it’s about bear shifters and it’s got me really curious about how the hero is going to fix things with his love interest, because he screwed up pretty good. LOL

Goals

Seeing as my only goal for the week was to stay on track for NaNo, I’d say I aced it. I was hoping for 1667 words per story, maybe a few more, maybe a few less, and I cannot believe every one of them has been over 2,000 words. Go me!

For the most part, the stories never end up being what I think they’ll be, which I guess is a good thing. I think doing flash stories instead of a novel has taken a lot of pressure off of NaNo. You only have to think of one story at a time, and who cares whether it’s any good or not. They’re going to need work when I’m done, of course, but I think they’re pretty much all keepers so far.

This Week’s Goals

1. Keep up the good work on NaNo.
2. Keep up the good work on the blog posts.
3. Try to get out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.


Here’s to a new week ahead.

The Lanturne

I bet you were expecting an excerpt from my NaNo novel today, weren’t you? Too bad, so sad. Did you forget this is the first Friday of the month? That means you’re getting poetry. But because it’s NaNo I found a form that’s really short and quick and easy to do, and to make up for the quickie form I’m including one of my poems written earlier in the year. First, the form.

This month’s form is the Lanturne, which is a Japanese form from the Middle Ages. It’s a five-line shape poem that when centered on the page resembles a Japanese lantern. In theory, at least. The syllable count for this form is one, two, three, four, one. It does not have to rhyme.

The poem is meant to illuminate the subject, like a lantern. It usually describes a one syllable noun, which is then personalized.


Clouds
gather
threatening
to split open -
rain.


Song
of praise
wafting from
the church window
joy.


Page
by page
by chapter
the book is done -
sigh!


Bonus Poem

The Gathering

Magic is brewing . . .
dusk was falling
as the poets gathered
competing with evening’s song –
first the cicadas
with their long, drawn out whine
then the crickets join in,
a frog belches his loneliness.
Sometimes they compete in song
sometimes they blend in harmony.
Birds hold a lively discourse
uncaring of the poets
gathered below
voices rising and falling.
A squirrel jumps from tree to tree
nearly misses
distracted by a blast
of music from the picnic shelter.
Two motorcycles roar past.
The spell is broken;
the poets are done.

Spice of Life Part X Cumin

Description:
Cumin is the dried seed of the herb Cuminum cyminum, a member of the parsley family. It has a distinctive, slightly bitter, warm flavor and can be found as either whole dried seeds or as a ground powder. It’s a common ingredient in many spice blends, and a staple spice in a variety of cuisines such as Mexican, Indian, African, and Asian.

It works well in soups, stews, and curries. Ground cumin is stronger than the seeds, and adds a distinctive flavor to marinades for poultry, lamb, or pork. It’s used in both meat and vegetable dishes, and can be added to chili or sauces.

History:
Cumin is one of the more ancient spices. It was used in preserving mummies in Egypt as well as a spice. Mention of it is made in both the old and new Testaments of the Bible. The Romans introduced cumin to Europe where it was valued both as a spice and for its medicinal qualities. Traders from Arabia introduced cumin down the Persian Gulf and into South Asia and China.

After its popularity peaked in Europe and Britain during the Middle Ages, the Spanish took cumin with them when they settled the Americas. It became integral to Spanish and Mexican cuisine and is a key ingredient in chili powder.

Medicinal Uses:
Cumin has a long history of medicinal use, mostly for digestive and bowel problems. It has also been proven helpful for those trying to lose weight, lower their cholesterol, or control their blood sugar. It can improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome such as bloating and stomach pain. As an antioxidant it helps the body handle stress and can help improve memory.


Recipes:

Cumin Tea

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cups water
1 teaspoon honey

Instructions
In a sauce pan, add water and cumin seeds.
Bring the water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Strain liquid into a mug. Add honey and stir well.
Can be drank hot or cold. Lemon can be added for extra flavour

Spiced Pork Chops

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper
4 bone-in, ½ inch thick loin pork chops
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Combine first 9 ingredients; rub over both sides of pork.
Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
Coat pan with cooking spray.
Add pork; cook for 3 minutes on each side.
Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 10 minutes or until done, turning occasionally.
Remove from pan; let stand 5 minutes.