YOU MIGHT BE A COLLECTOR...AND NOT KNOW IT

I'm somewhat of a collector, but I didn't know it. The word "collection" caught my attention recently when my publisher said she'd like to change the anthology she's putting together for me from "A Western Romance Anthology" to "A Western Romance Collection."

Yes, I liked that word, but I couldn't say why.

If asked, I'd say, no, I'm not a collector. To me, a "collector" is someone who has many objects that fit into a certain category, and that person displays those in some manner. I've seen some lovely collections in friend's homes, but still didn't think I fit the category. All I could think of was dusting those pieces.

For example, I do have several angel figurines, but that happened by accident. One Christmas, I displayed a small white angel that's actually a bell. A friend saw it. Next Christmas, she gave me a pretty angel figurine. It went beside the now-permanent white bell angel. Later, someone else gifted me with an angel, saying..."I noticed you collect angels."

Hmm, I didn't think I did. Today, I have several--all gifts from people who say--"this is for your collection." And I'm thinking...yes, the collection I didn't think I had.

But I do collect books--don't all authors? My book shelf holds copies--some old, some newer--of every one of LaVyrle Spencer's romances. Since I hold her in the highest esteem, I eventually bought every book and kept them. There you go...another collection.

However, I don't collect items as a general rule. That rule becomes a moot point, though, when I'm talking jewelry--especially jewelry that is in the shape of a heart or has hearts on it somewhere. This began when we started traveling after retirement. We toured many foreign countries, plus the US, and instead of buying t-shirts or postcards, I searched for a piece of jewelry from the country that was heart shaped--necklaces and earrings.

The material from which the heart was made didn't matter--an amber heart on a silver chain from Stockholm, a black plastic heart painted with tiny flowers from St. Petersburg, a nickel heart on a copper chain from Rostock, Germany, a silver heart on a silver chain from Rome...and on and on. I have a drawer full of the stuff.

In addition to heart jewelry, I searched for "the all-important refrigerator magnet." These were more difficult to find. Some countries, I suppose, don't believe in refrigerator magnets! Still I found one in Key West, Mexico, Calgary, Yellowstone, Paris, etc. 

Recently, I have given up collecting. My time is consumed with writing and sorting and scanning old photos. Maybe that's still a kind of collecting--different versions of the same thing.

Are you a collector?
I'm always interested in people's homes, to see what they like and what they collect. What does the practice say about a person? Is it a human trait to hold on to artifacts?

In any case, it provides entertainment and satisfaction for the collector.

Lone Star Dreaming is a Western Romance Collection that contains the four 99 Cent Dime Novels (novellas) I wrote for Publishing by Rebecca J. Vickery. I love this book, and if you haven't read these novellas, the ebook edition gives the reader all four for the price of three. Both the print and ebook are available now, on Amazon.

PRINT:
http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Star-Dreaming-Celia-Yeary/dp/1479224804/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347656855&sr=1-3&keywords=celia+yeary

EBOOK:
http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Star-Dreaming-ebook/dp/B009AJYJQI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347668422&sr=1-1&keywords=celia+yeary

The Avoids: Useless Words

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all details and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."
Quoted from: The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White, Fourth Edition.

This small book is my Bible. At times, it becomes useful, but at other times...I forget about it and begin to break all the rules.
I am a master at using useless words, sometimes called needless words.

Examples of how to avoid some useless words:
he is a man who                        he
in a hasty manner                     hastily
used for fuel purposes              used for fuel
the reason why is                      because
the question as to whether       whether
owing to the fact that                since (or because)
the fact that I had arrived        my arrival

I own two books that were printed in 1893. One is titled Reveries of a Bachelor. The writing is flowery and filled with useless words. And I love every one of them.

Example:
"Shall he who has been hitherto a mere observer of other men's cares and business, moving off where they made him sick of heart, approaching whenever and wherever they made him gleeful, shall he now undertake administration of just such cares and business, without qualms? Shall he, whose whole life has been but a nimble succession of escapes from trifling difficulties, now broach without doubtings, that matrimony where if difficulty beset him, there is no escape?"

Here's my attempt to rewrite the passage in 2012 language:

"Should I ignore other men's problems but eagerly participate in their partying? Should I stop playing around with women and decide if marriage is worth the effort?"

I avoided using too many useless words, but I also stripped the passage of it's poetic voice.

In Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing, he states, "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. A rule came to mind in 1983. Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words. What the writer is doing, is he's writing, perpetrating "hooptedoodle," perhaps taking another shot at the weather, or has gone into the character's head, and the reader either knows what the guy's thinking or doesn't care. I'll be you don't skip dialogue." (Note from Celia: count the number of useless words in this paragraph. Leonard Elmore obviously likes useless words.)

I believe Steinbeck coined the word "hooptedoodle," for two of the chapters in his "Sweet Thursday," are titled Hooptedoodle 1 and Hooptedoodle 2.
And Elmore Leonard said he read every word.

Useless words?  Useless phrases?
My weakness is using prepositional phrases:
the crowing of a rooster            or..the rooster's crow
a master of music                      or..a music master

On the other hand, I'm reading more novels with short choppy sentences, as though an editor...or the author...has studied this topic too much and cut the heart out of the voice.

The first manuscript I submitted to a publisher was rejected because "it read like a textbook." Yes, that's what I knew--how to write papers, not fiction.

Fiction needs to be concise and non-repetitive. But like Steinbeck writes, sometimes I want to write all that hooptedoodle. And I don't mind a smattering of useless words.

How do you feel about the topics?

WHO DOES WHAT ON A FOOTBALL TEAM?

Forgive the somewhat grammatically incorrect title, but I like it.

My Virgo Horoscope today asked me: "Consider that each player's position on a football team comes with its own responsibilities and a specific role to move the team to victory. Which is your choice position in today's 'game'?"

My dear husband and I don't watch much football, but on occasion we become interested in a team for one reason or another. I do understand the basics of the game--but the players' positions? Couldn't tell you the difference between a running back or a tight end. As a result, I do ask questions now and then, and he can tell me everything I need...or want...to know.

Other than the quarterback's role...everybody knows that!...what are some of the positions?

And how can I use this in my life of writing?

First, I want to decide if I'm an Offensive Player or a Defensive Player. Well, this is too easy. I want to be on the Offensive team. They have the ball, for heaven's sake. Why wouldn't I want to have the ball?

So, of the Offensive Players--
The QB passes or hands off the ball
The Center snaps the ball to the QB
The Guards and Tackles keep the defense at bay
The Wide Receivers catch the ball thrown by the QB
The Running Back takes the ball and runs with it
The Tight End blocks the defense and catches passes--

I believe I will be the...wait a minute. To get the ball over the goal line, more than one player must do his job. If I chose to be the Running Back, I'd need the other players to help me catch and run the ball toward the goal line.

When I first began writing stories to pass the time, I was completely on my own. In a way, I had the ball and could do what I wanted with it. Then came a time when I thought someone else should read one of my manuscripts, and quickly learned I couldn't produce a good product without help.

No touchdown on my own.

TOUCHDOWN

That help came in the form of writing friends, writing courses and books, a publisher, a contract, an editor, and finally...distribution sites. Touchdown.

Then came more work to finish the game--promotion.

Writing is relatively simple compared to getting that novel or short story published and promoted.

It takes a village? For a book, it takes a team.